Here Be Dragons
by Steefwaterbutter
Summary: Third of the Spirit Crossovers. After escaping the claws of Mor'du, Spirit finds himself in yet another world, one inhabited by mysterious creatures called dragons. Injured and alone, Spirit comes to form an unlikely friendship with a young Viking. But, as time passes, secrets are uncovered. Questions arise. A hidden darkness is revealed, one that will change everything. REWRITTEN
1. Fire and Rain

He did not know where he was. The only thing he knew was that his entire body was throbbing.

 _What happened to me?_

The stallion lay quietly, listening, and trying to collect his scattered thoughts. Dew soaked his golden coat, drops of water trickled down his body. His dark muzzle wrinkled and his nostrils widened as be drew in the sweet-smelling air. His ears twitched, picking up the sound of rushing water. His throat felt dry and gritty, like he had swallowed sand.

 _Where am I?_

Spirit cracked open his eyes, then quickly shut them again as rays of sunlight hit his face. He blinked slowly, but everything was blurry. As things slowly came into focus, he saw he was in some sort of cove. Light grey walls rose up all around him. Water poured from the top of a large rock into a small pond. On the ground was a scattering of stones.

Spirit tried to get up and look around some more, but pain rippled through his legs and the stallion fell back, clenching his teeth. For a moment he lay still, waiting for it to subside, then twisted his head to look at himself.

The stallion gasped, feeling a bit nauseous. His once-glimmering coat had been splattered with multiple cuts, burns, and bruises. Then he happened to glance at his left back leg, and flinched. It was striped scarlet with several swollen wounds that throbbed mercilessly. Spirit tried flexing the stiffened muscles in his leg, and although barbed pain shot through his entire leg, he found with much relief that he could still move it. At least it wasn't broken.

 _But what happened to me?_ he thought again.

Suddenly, a chill swept through him; an image flashed across his eyes. Then another. And another. A portal. Fire. Fear. Something... important. Someone. Spirit squeezed his eyes shut, trying to remember. When he did, his whole body tensed.

 _Rain!_

* * *

He had fallen through another portal, another pit of green light. This time it had dropped him into a burning village, choked with chaos. People carrying various kinds of weapons were trying to protect their homes from some sort of flying beasts who could breath fire. Shrieks, grunts, and roars pressed at him from every angle, the noises jumbling together into a sort of squealing. As Spirit watched, trying to get a grasp on what was going on, a large piece of burning wood ripped through the air, nearly striking him. Spirit squealed, and broke into a sprint, once again running for his life.

 _Oh my. What a convenient time to be thrown into this world,_ he thought sarcastically, inwardly rolling his eyes. He jumped to the side as a human launched himself at one of the beasts, yelling and waving something in his hand. For a moment he simply stared, eyes wide, then began running again.

 _What is up with this place? Yeesh! I have to get out of here... before I get killed!_

Finally, the young stallion managed to get a little ways away, and dropped his head, sucking in the clearer air. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a boy, much smaller and skinnier than the other humans, sneak out of a house, some kind of weapon tucked under his arm. When Spirit turned his head to look, his eyes widened, and he gasped. At first he thought the smoke had simply blurred his vision, but when he looked again, the sorrel paint mare did not melt away.

 _Rain?_ he gasped. _Rain, is that you?_

At his voice, the mare jumped, her head whipping around to see who had spoken. Then her eyes met his, and her face lit up, brighter than all the flames that roared around them. _Spirit!_

Spirit leaped back into the crowds of people and began fighting his way forward, oblivious to anything but his beloved Rain. _I'm coming, Rain!_

He had almost made it to her when her scream shattered through his ears. A stray spear buried had itself in Rain's shoulder. Her face twisted in pain, and she squealed as she hit the ground.

 _Spirit!_ _Help me!_

Spirit lunged forward, but suddenly something caught around his back leg, jerking him to a stop. Agony exploded through his leg, and he fell heavily to the ground. He screamed, feeling like his leg was on fire, and kicked wildly, freeing himself from his bonds. He bolted up, turned and saw the boy sprawled on the ground, weapon gone. He was staring at Spirit in horror, but Spirit barely registered his expression.

 _He's the one that hit me,_ Spirit realized. He- _it_ had tried to kill him. Another had perhaps killed Rain. These humans… they were different, worse than any he had ever encountered before. They were killers.

For a moment, Spirit simply stared at the two-legged, ears pinned against his skull, his teeth bared, his breath coming in short gasps.

 _I will never forgive you for what you have done to me._

* * *

Spirit was snapped out of his memories by the cracking of a twig. He lifted his head, but moaned at the aches that once more rippled through his body. Who had made the noise? Was it one of the fire-breathing beasts? Rain? or... the two-legged. The one who had attempted to take his life.

It was standing near the cove wall, looking curiously at the mustang. Now that Spirit looked closer, he saw that the two-legged looked young, probably about fourteen or fifteen. It had floppy brown hair and wore a green tunic with a fur vest. But why had it come here? Had it come here to finish the job, to make sure he was dead?

Spirit pinned his ears back and squealed at him. The human jumped. However, after a moment had passed, he stepped forward again, hand held out.

 _Get away from me!_

The boy sighed and dropped his hand. "I know," he muttered, rubbing his arm and looking down. "I know why you're so mad, and... I don't blame you. I-I'm really sorry." The boy looked up, his eyes pleading. "I didn't mean to hit you, I swear. It's just... I tripped over something and, the stupid thing, it just flew out of my hands," he sighed, glancing back at the ground. "I... I'm really sorry. I didn't mean for this to happen."

 _Didn't mean to..._ Though Spirit couldn't understand all of what the teenager said, he could sense the remorse in the boy's words, and felt some of the tension in his body release.

 _Don't listen to him,_ a small voice inside him hissed. _He hurt you and he hurt Rain._

"My name's Hiccup, by the way." Hiccup cleared his throat and looked up again, his ears reddening slightly, as if he was wondering why he was talking to a horse.

 _Hiccup, eh? It kinda suits you,_ Spirit thought, looking over the teenager's skinny frame. It was hard to think that this small human was the one who had brought him crashing to the ground.

The boy, Hiccup, inched forward, head craned towards Spirit's injured leg. "You've messed up your leg pretty bad," he grimaced.

 _You mean_ you _messed it up!_ If he were a cougar, Spirit would have growled, but he made no noise, and simply clenched his jaw.

"Maybe I can do something for it," Hiccup said, looking it over. "That is, if you let me come closer." He edged forward. By now he was only a few feet away.

Spirit pinned his ears again, glaring at the boy, breath blowing out in loud huffs. _Don't even think about it. Don't you dare touch me._

Hiccup stopped, his shoulders dropping in surrender. "All right, all right. I won't come any closer, I promise."

He paused for a moment, thinking, then pulled up blades of grass and put a small pile in front of Spirit.

"I'll be back," he said, getting to his feet. "Just... um, lay low, okay?"

Spirit plopped his head back on the ground and let out a sigh. _Very funny._

* * *

Hiccup ran all the way back to the village. _I have to help him. It's my fault he got injured,_ he thought. If only he wasn't so clumsy... Hiccup sighed and pushed the thought away. _Before I can do anything for him, I have to get him to trust me._

He paused to duck into the forge and grab an empty sack.

"Wot'll you be needin' that for?" the village blacksmith, Gobber, asked him.

"Just… working on something."

"Not another one of yer so-called 'dragon-killin' machines'. Ye're going to blow up the whole village. The dragons will think ye're one o' them, an' take ye with them. Then wot'll I do, with no apprentice?" Gobber groaned dramatically, and Hiccup had to roll his eyes as he stepped out of the doorway.

Clutching the sack to his chest, Hiccup ran through the village and entered into the Great Hall, a large building at the center of the village. Luckily, no one was inside at the moment to see him slip inside the small store room.

"Lessee, what do horses like to eat?" he muttered, casting his eyes around the shelves and barrels of food. After a second's musing, Hiccup shoved some a loaf of bread and several apples into the sack.

"Hiccup, what are you doing?"

Hiccup almost dropped the sack. He knew that voice.

He whipped around to see the chief of the tribe, and... his father. He was a huge man, about four times the size of Hiccup, certainly living up to his name, Stoick the Vast. Hiccup's stomach twisted into a knot, and he felt himself shrink away slightly.

"Hiccup?" Stoick asked again, crossing his arms.

"Um, er... nothing," Hiccup stuttered, and hastily backed out the door, but not fast enough to escape the sound of his father's sigh.


	2. Apples and Herbs

As Hiccup disappeared out of the cove, Spirit grew quiet. A gentle breeze blew into the cove lifting the tips of his inky black mane. It felt pleasantly cool against his aching body, but his leg still throbbed still almost unbearably.

What had happened to Rain that night? Had the humans killed her? Perhaps not. Thinking over the events of the night, and what Hiccup had said, Spirit realized the humans hadn't been _trying_ to harm them; both he and Rain had just been caught, quite literally, in the crossfire.

Spirit let out a long, low sigh. Even so, with the humans and the… dragons trying their best to get rid of each other, it was likely she hadn't made it out.

The stallion narrowed his eyes, snorting loudly. No. Rain was a strong mare. Hadn't she survived when everyone had given up on her? Couldn't she run like the wind? She _had_ to be alright. And he _would_ find her. But, he couldn't even start to _look_ for her until his leg healed.

 _I need to get up, at least onto my stomach_ , Spirit groaned to himself. The vulnerability of his position had been pricking at him ever since he had woken up, and his lungs were beginning to hurt from the pressure. He never could remember quite how he managed it, but after much groaning and stings of protest from his leg, he struggled from laying flat on his side to a more upright position on his stomach. The ground rocked back but soon stilled. He closed his eyes for a second and breathed deeply, feeling the pressure on his lungs decrease.

Spirit nosed at the pile of grass, wondering if he should leave it just to spite Hiccup. It was a petty revenge, Spirit had to admit, and reluctantly he took a small mouthful. It wasn't quite as good as the stuff in Scotland, but the slightly salty blades were still quite tasty. When he finished, he closed his eyes, letting himself fully relax for the first time since coming to this realm.

Spirit jerked awake as the sound of footsteps reached his ears. After a jaw-cracking yawn, the stallion shook his head to clear the cobwebs and saw that Hiccup had returned. He was alone. Good.

As Hiccup came closer, Spirit saw he was carrying a sack. Spirit's ears pricked, and he whinnied quietly in spite of himself, wondering what was inside.

"Hey again, Boy." Hiccup said softly, a smile hovering on his face. The stallion snorted, stretching his neck towards the sack, nipping at it slightly.

"Hungry, eh?" Hiccup laughed, then caught himself. He couldn't really remember when he had last laughed like that. Shaking his head, Hiccup pulled out a few apples, and placed them in front of the stallion, who quickly began to crunch them down. While he was distracted, Hiccup took the chance to sneak around the stallion to check out his leg. Without even pausing his chewing, the stallion pinned his ears and promptly slapped Hiccup's legs with his tail.

"Okay, I take your point," Hiccup murmured, taking a few steps back. He walked back towards the stallion's head, and although the horse flattened his ears a touch, he didn't snap at Hiccup.

 _It's a start,_ Hiccup thought, longing to reach out and stroke the stallion's flowing mane. But how long would it take before the horse would trust him?

When he had finished the apples, the stallion sniffed at the ground, then looked at Hiccup as if asking if there was more. Hiccup reached into the sack again and tore off a piece of the bread. He hesitated for a second, then held it out to the horse. The stallion looked at him for a minute, his ears flicking back and forth, then stretched his neck forward, and snatched it out of Hiccup's hand. Hiccup dropped his hand, and breathed a sigh of relief that the stallion hadn't taken his arm off. One step closer.

"I have to figure out something to call you," he said, sitting down cross-legged in front of the horse.

He studied the stallion for a moment, his gaze flicking over the stallion's golden coat, dark muzzle and lower legs, and pitch black mane and tail. He thought of when he had first saw the stallion amidst the burning buildings, the flames mirrored in his smoldering eyes.

"Flame. I'll call you Flame, at least for now."

The stallion seemed to approve. He let a quiet nicker, and tossed his head.

Hiccup took advantage of his good mood and reached his hand forward. Immediately the stallion's ears flattened and he jerked away. He even bared his teeth a little.

Hiccup quickly drew his hand back, and winced. "Sorry." He looked down for a moment, pulling up tufts of grass, then added, "I mean, I'm really sorry you've had to go through all of this."

Spirit relaxed and blew out of his nostrils, seeming to say, _You have no idea_.

Hiccup smiled a little. "Well then, I'm going to make sure that you get better. I need to have a look at your leg first, though."

Spirit looked steadily at him for a second, then gave a long sigh, dropping his head. Hiccup took this to be a yes, and went around the stallion again, this time keeping his distance. The joint connecting the leg to the hoof was swollen, probably from a mild sprain, and the rest was covered in scrapes. The stallion's body was scratched and burned, but those injuries seemed minor. The main thing would be to make sure the cuts on the leg didn't get infected.

Luckily, Hiccup knew someone sure to help him. Gothi, the village healer. She was old, but kind and wise. Surely she would help him. Hiccup glanced up at the sun and was surprised to see how quickly the time had passed. He hated to leave just as he was really beginning to make progress, but it was already getting late and Gobber most likely needed his help at the forge. He said one last good-bye to Spirit, and once more walked out of the cove.

* * *

On the way back he ran into one of the other teenagers of the town, Ruffnut. The girl was somewhat lanky, like him, with long blond hair she kept in three braids. Right now it was full of knots and had twigs sticking out at odd angles. He couldn't guess what she was doing in the woods.

"Hi Ruff," he began uneasily. "What are you doing out here?"

"Why do you want to know?" she snapped, narrowing her eyes. Making a face, she began trying to work a stick out from her hair, as Hiccup edged back a bit. With a scowl, Ruff yanked the twig out, then glanced up back at him. She softened her voice a hair and asked, almost curious, "Wait... what are _you_ doing here?"

"Um, nothing," Hiccup faltered.

The girl rolled her eyes, as if to say, "Typical."

"Well... uh, s-see you around?" Hiccup asked tentatively.

"Whatever," Ruff muttered, and resumed working on her hair.

* * *

Rain looked around at the foggy forest, wondering what had happened. Where was Spirit? She remember him screaming in pain, but then, everything had gone... blurry. The mare slowly got to her feet, but squealed a little, feeling as if her shoulder was on fire. The spear was gone, but it had left a deep, ragged wound. Rain glanced around nervously, nickering for Spirit, but the forest was silent. Tall grass waved gently in the wind, and fog blanketed everything. Rain tensed as she heard the grass swish, and readied herself to run if... whatever-it-was any closer. Then she heard some muttering fading in and out of earshot.

"Tuffnut, I swear, when I get back, you are going to regret the day you were born. I cannot believe... ouch! you would... grr.. do this... to my... arg... hair!"

A tall girl, her hair snarled, and her face murderous, stumbled into view. Rain thought she could remember seeing her last night, but with all the chaos, she couldn't be sure. As for the girl, she stopped and stared at Rain like she'd never see a horse before.

"Whoah..." the girl said slowly. "You're like... three colors! Cool."

Rain took a small step back, not knowing what to think of this strange human.

Still staring at her, the girl began absentmindedly pulling at the knots in her hair. "Ow!" She jerked her hand out, shaking it vigorously. "Stupid brother..." Then she looked at Rain again and her whole expression changed. "Ouch... you're hurt bad."

 _Um, thank you for pointing out the obvious?_ Rain thought sarcastically.

"It's like you were caught in a dragon raid or something," said the girl, her voice much softer. "Makes me wish I knew something about healing."

* * *

Ruffnut sighed and threw herself on her bed, still thinking about what to do with the horse. Should she try to help it? Leave it alone and hope it got better? How had it even gotten that wound?

"What were _you_ doing all day?" asked her twin brother, Tuffnut, coming into the room and throwing his helmet at her.

"What do you think? Trying to fix my hair after you filled it with sticks," she muttered, without much enthusiasm. Usually she would have thrown her own helmet, or something like that, but she just wasn't in the mood.

"Hey, what's wrong, sis?" Tuffnut coaxed, almost sounding concerned.

"Nothing. Shut up or I'll clobber you."

His face immediately returned to its regular sneer."Ha. You can't tell me what to do, I'm the oldest..."

Ruffnut promptly took his helmet and whacked him over the head. "I guess older by three minutes doesn't help you very much, does it?"

"Ow," came a voice from the floor.

Ruff smirked and climbed into her bed once more. " 'Night, Tuff," she mumbled, blowing out the candle. She heard a garbled noise coming from across the room, which she took to be her brother saying good night back.

Ruffnut lay back, gazing out the window and going over and over the possibilities. One thing was for certain: if she did decide to help it, no one could find out, not even Tuff. For one thing, it would be awkward to explain, and there was no telling what the other teens might think. She was sure Fishlegs and Hiccup wouldn't mind, but Snotlout, Astrid, and Tuffnut...

But she couldn't just leave that horse. She felt sorry for it, but... there was something about the horse that intrigued her. Where had it come from? Why was it here? How had it been injured?

Ruffnut waited until she was sure her brother was asleep, then grabbed the candle and sneaked out of the room. She went down to the old pile of scrolls and books her father had, searching over the dusty volumes. At last she found what she was looking for, and with a grin of satisfaction, she cracked open the book and began to read.


	3. Hurt, But Healing

The next morning, as the sky lightened from dark blue to bruised purple, Hiccup raced out of his house. He ran through the village and didn't stop until he arrived at Gothi's house. Gulping down his nerves, Hiccup quickly knocked, then waited, for the the healer to answer. The old and bent woman opened the door at once, and her face broke into a smile when she saw him, quickly inviting him in. Stepping over to the fire pit, she scraped out a small pile of ashes with her staff.

 _What is it?"_ she wrote in the pile of ashes.

In the fifteen years he had lived, Hiccup had never heard Gothi speak. Instead, she communicated through writing in one of those lost languages not many people knew.

"Well... it's about a horse," Hiccup confided, scratching behind his neck.

 _"A horse?"_ Gothi looked up at him, her eyebrows furrowed.

"Yeah, I found an injured horse in the woods, near Raven's Point. I think he sprained his leg, and he's cut up pretty bad. Do you, uh, have any advice for me on what to do?" he asked weakly, spreading his hands.

Gothi's staff scratched again as she told him which herbs would bring down the swelling, help the cuts to heal, and prevent infection. Then she went to her stores and gave him a roll of bandages and a small amount of the herbs he needed, telling him where he could get more.

Hiccup's shoulders dropped, a warmth starting to tingle through his body.

"Thank you so, so much, Gothi. How... how can I repay you?"

Gothi smiled and rapped him lightly on the head with her staff.

 _"Stay out of trouble."_

Hiccup walked quickly through the forest, his feet treading the path that becoming more and more familiar. His steps were lighter than they had in days, and he swung the bag of herbs from side to side contentedly. Then he froze.

"Oh _no,"_ Hiccup groaned, shrinking back slightly.

Not too far off were two teenage boys, Snotlout and Tuffnut. They looked like they were throwing a spear at a tree. As Tuffnut ran to picked up the spear from the bushes, he caught sight of Hiccup, and a sneer spread across his face. At his shout, Snotlout turned and grinned.

Hiccup rolled his eyes at them, but inside his heart was hammering. He wanted to run, but what would be the use?

"Well, well, _well_ ," taunted the black-haired, muscular boy. "If it isn't the talking fishbone."

"What do you want, Snotlout?" Hiccup spat, his free hand clenching and unclenching into a fist.

"Ooh, what a threatening tone; I'm _so_ scared," mocked Snotlout in a high-pitched, girly voice. Tuffnut snickered.

"What's _that_ for?" he asked, pointing at the bag Hiccup was carrying.

"Nothing you would understand, Tuff," Hiccup retorted.

"Probably some 'nerd' stuff," Snotlout laughed. "One of those 'new interventions that's finally going to bring down a _dragon._ "

"Well, in that case, take your, ugh," Tuff gave mock shudder, " 'nerd stuff' somewhere else." Tuffnut sneered, grabbing the bag from Hiccup and tossing it to the side.

"Hey!" Hiccup turned to pick it up, but was shoved in the back and fell, sprawling, on the ground, his palms slapping onto the ground as he caught himself.

"Tuff, what was that for?" Snotlout asked with mock surprise. "Here, let me help you up." He leaned down as if to offer Hiccup his hand, but drew back his fist and punched Hiccup in the nose, slamming Hiccup's head back into the dirt. "Oops. I meant down."

Hiccup closed his eyes for second, then sat up and glared at Snotlout, his jaw clenched. " _Leave me alone_ ," he snarled, pain shooting through his face.

"As you wish." Snotlout took a sweeping bow, the burst out laughing. "Haha, bye _loser_."

As soon as the two boys disappeared, Hiccup slumped, letting his back thud against the ground, and let out a long groan.

He pinched his nose, to try and stop the bleeding.

"Why does it seem like everyone hates me?"

* * *

Spirit looked up and nickered softly when he saw Hiccup. It had been a long night. A long, lonely night. He had been able to get on his feet, and hobble to the pond for a drink, but each time he had moved his leg, it punished him with sharp stabs of pain.

 _Look at me,_ he thought. _Once a swift and powerful mustang, now a hopeless, crippled nag._

As Hiccup got closer, Spirit was surprised to see blood dripping from the teen's nose. He gestured to it with his muzzle and raised an eyebrow, asking how it had happened.

Hiccup shrugged, but the action appeared anything but casual. "Got into a scuffle with my cousin and another boy," he admitted, looking down. "They... kinda like to make my life miserable because I'm... well look at me!" Hiccup gestured to his skinny body. He let out a sigh, muttering to himself, "If only I could actually bring down a dragon. That would show them."

Hiccup dropped the bag on the ground and the contents spilled out onto the grass. Spirit studied the contents, and saw flowers that looked like somewhat like daisies, a small brown bag, green leaves, and long strips of white cloth.

"Let's see here, first there's comfrey." Hiccup pointed to the leaves. "That'll bring the swelling down. Then there's chamomile..." he picked up a few of the flowers "...and goldenseal, which will heal your cuts and burns. I got them from Gothi, she's our healer, and," he lowered his voice to a mutter once again, "one of the few people who is actually nice to me."

Spirit's ears pricked. He found himself wanting to know more about this world he had landed in, the people, the animals, the _dragons_ even.

Spirit turned his head to look as Hiccup crouched by Spirit's injured leg. "I can keep talking, if you want," he said quietly.

Spirit nickered quietly, tossing his head, and Hiccup let out a small laugh.

He began by dipping a cloth into a bowl of water and wiping it gently on Spirit's cuts. It stung, but not too much.

As he worked, he talked. He told Spirit about the teens in his town, Fishlegs, who had practically memorized every fact they had on dragons, his cousin Snotlout, the twins Ruffnut and Tuffnut, and the beautiful Astrid.

"Then there's Stoick, chief of the tribe, and... my dad. He..."

Hiccup trailed off and Spirit's thoughts turned to his own father, a pure black stallion named Strider. Around the time Spirit turned three, he had disappeared, leaving Spirit free to take over the Cimarron herd. Strider was never heard from again. No one knew what had happened to him, but now that Spirit thought about it, he wouldn't be surprised to hear he had been captured by humans.

"Ever since my mom died, we, um... I don't see him very often," he finished lamely, looking down and fiddling with a piece of chamomile.

Spirit suddenly found himself wishing _he_ could talk. He wished he could tell Hiccup about his family, about Rain, Esperanza, and the rest of his herd. To tell him about all the adventures he had been on before coming to this world, how he had been captured by humans, fallen in love with Rain, made friends with the Lakota, Little Creek, and finally returned to his homeland. He wanted... to tell Hiccup his story.

Spirit snapped back out of his thoughts as Hiccup began speaking again.

"Um... Gobber. He's a blacksmith. I've been apprenticed to him since I was little-"

Spirit snorted with laughter.

"Okay, okay! Little-er. He's almost like my uncle; he's taught me a lot, and although he jokes about me being skinny, he's just a lot easier to be around than my dad."

 _That's more like it,_ Spirit thought smugly, taking on a haughty expression.

"Aw, cut it out, Flame!" Hiccup laughed, rolling his eyes as he placed a comfrey leaf on Spirit's leg and slowly wrapped the bandage around it. Spirit nickered with as relief spread through his leg, and the pain mellowed to a dull ache.

 _Thank you,_ Spirit said with his eyes. The mustang turned to Hiccup, and saw the boy holding out his hand. Spirit hesitated, then slowly pushed his muzzle into Hiccup's palm. In that instant, everything changed.


	4. Connection

Hiccup scrubbed a his face and groaned. "Uhhhh, my head." He opened his eyes and saw Flame standing not to far away from him, shaking his head. Hiccup wracked his brain, trying to understand what happened, the last thing he remembered was touching the stallion's face. "What happened?"

 _I have no idea..._

Hiccup bolted up, grabbing the stallion's mane to steady himself. Flame had spoken... and he had understood!

"You. Just. Talked to me!" Hiccup gasped, staggering back away from the stallion.

 _Well, yeah, of course I did!_ Flame sighed, rolling his eyes. _I talk to you a lot. You just never..._ suddenly his eyes widened as he realized what Hiccup meant _...listen. Hey, I can understand you too. Like,_ really _understand. It's... clearer somehow._

"Something must have happened when I touched you. B-but, I think I touched you before, when I was putting on the medicine and stuff. Gosh, this is weird... h-how did this even happen?" Hiccup grabbed a clump of hair.

Flame simply shook his head. _I really have no idea._ Then he looked down and hung his head slightly. _Well... I've been meaning to say... I'm sorry I was mean to you._ The stallion looked like he was about to say more, but simply sighed, blowing the air out of his nostrils.

"And I'm really sorry I hurt you Fl-wait," Hiccup broke off. "That's not your real name, is it?"

 _No_ , the stallion answered with a slight smile. _I doubt you would be able to pronounce my real name. The human I lived with before called me Spirit. I suppose you could call me that._

"Spirit." Hiccup said, testing out the new name. "Yeah, I'll call you that. But, you said you lived with humans before?"

 _Yeah. I was captured, and... well, it's a really long story. Quite the adventure though!_ Privately _,_ Spirit decided not to tell Hiccup about his journeys to the land of cars and of bears. He was still processing the events himself.

"I've kinda always wished I could go on an adventure, or... do something no one else has ever done before," Hiccup slowly admitted. "But no one trusts me to do anything, so I guess I never will." Hiccup raised his shoulders for moment, before dropping them again.

 _Hey, wasn't meeting me kind of an adventure?_

"Well, sorta," Hiccup rolled his eyes. "I just have to say it's been nice to have someone to talk to, even if he's 'just a horse'."

 _Hey!_ Spirit feigned an injured expression.

Later, as he watched the boy slip out of the cove, Spirit realized how lucky he was to have Hiccup. Not just as someone to help him heal from his injuries, but as a friend, someone to help him get through this crazy world. He was lucky to have Hiccup as a friend.

* * *

"Arigh' Hiccup," Gobber sighed. "Wot's happened to you this time?"

Hiccup went over to a pile of weapons in the forge, and picked up one of the lighter swords, inspecting it. "What are you talking about?" he asked, turning back to the blacksmith.

"Yer nose, Hiccup!" Gobber said, clearly concerned.

Hiccup gulped, and inwardly cringed. With all the things that had happened with Spirit, he had almost forgotten about it. "Um, well, you see, I was running through the woods and... I didn't look where I was going and tripped over a tree root."

Gobber sighed, rolling his eyes slightly. "Maybe next time: look where yer goin'! Here, let me get sometin' for yeh." He stumped out of the shop.

"I'll keep that in mind, Gobber," Hiccup sighed, looking down at the sword.

A few moments after Gobber left, the last person Hiccup wanted to see at the moment came into the forge. Astrid. A beautiful and talented girl, who would no doubt prove to be a talented dragon-killer. She had blond hair she kept in a short braid, and bangs that were always getting into her eyes. Unlike most Vikings, she didn't wear a helmet, only a leather headband, and almost always carried a large battleaxe with her. Hiccup felt his heartbeat speed up, his hands felt sweaty.

"I need my axe sharpened," she said bluntly, stepping into the stall. They were in the same room...

"Astrid! Uh, hi, Astrid. Hello there, welcome," Hiccup stammered. "What can I-"

Interrupting his shaky greeting, Astrid promptly threw the axe in his direction, where it embedded in a block of wood.

"...do for you?"

Astrid walked over and tugged it out. As she stepped over to hand it to him, she frowned at his nose. "What happened to you?"

Hiccup staggered a little, feeling as if the axe weighed as much as he did. "Oh the usual, Snotlout meant to give me a friendly handshake, but missed," he muttered, half to himself.

"That guy can be such a jerk sometimes. I mean seriously, what's his problem?" Astrid muttered darkly, though she didn't look at him.

 _Just when I thought this day couldn't get any weirder,_ Hiccup thought, stunned. _First, I find out I can talk to horses, and now Astrid's actually agreeing with me._

"Earth to Hiccup?" Hiccup jerked back into reality as Astrid's voice broke through his thoughts. "Aren't you going to get started?"

Hiccup almost dropped the axe. "Oh... um, yeah! One razor-sharp battleaxe, coming right up."

"Careful. That's my mother's," Astrid muttered, leaning against the wall and crossing her arms.

Hiccup heaved to ax over to the grindstone. "So..." he said, hoping for some conversation, "I saw you guys were on fire patrol during the dragon raid the other night."

"Yeah. I didn't get burned, though. It's only fun if you get a scar out of it."

Hiccup started to whet the axe while Astrid looked at some of the swords. "Well, I would have been there too, but I was too busy making friends with Spirit." Hiccup froze. Oh gosh. Was that out loud?

"What did you say?" asked Astrid, turning around and looking at him strangely.

"Nothing, nothing! I meant... um... nevermind." Hiccup groaned inwardly, scrubbing a palm over his face. He sounded like an idiot. His mind was overflowing with so many thoughts...

Astrid rolled her eyes, then turned back to the weapons. After a few moments, she pushed aside a curtain and looked into Hiccup's "organized chaos" room.

"What... is this?" she asked slowly, looking around at all of Hiccup's drawings.

Hiccup nearly dropped the axe for the second time. The only thing that kept him from doing so was the desire to have his head remain intact. Setting it down, Hiccup rushed over and practically threw himself in front of the drawings. "Um, oh, uh, those? Oh, it's nothing... just some stuff I'm working on," he stuttered, shoving a bunch of the drawings into a drawer. "Nothing much." As if the other teens didn't get enough fun out of teasing him already...

Astrid picked up a piece of paper that had dropped on the floor and studied it. "The Mutilator," she read.

"Uh... yeah. Basically, it uses twin-weighted counter-levels to launch crisscrossing blades in four different directions," Hiccup explained quickly, inwardly cringing at how "nerdy" he sounded.

"How do you hold it?" Astrid sounded bored.

Hiccup slowly walked back to the ax and began to put the finishing touches on with a small stone. "You don't," he sighed. "You shoot it."

"Oh. Eh, well," Astrid tossed the drawing back onto the floor, "I'm more of an old-fashioned 'take it down with an axe, and then lop its head off', kind of girl. It's kind of the Viking way right?"

Usually Hiccup would have agreed, but something about the way she said it made him shiver. "Uh... yeah. Go Vikings," he said flatly, trying to cover it up.

"Gosh, I can't wait until we can actually start killing dragons!" Astrid exclaimed, pounding her fist into her palm, while her face lit up.

 _Like I'll ever be able to do that,_ Hiccup thought moodily. Whenever he tried to, it just ended up with people, and horses, getting hurt.

"Astrid! You coming or what?"

Hiccup saw Fishlegs, Tuffnut, and Snotlout near the forge.

Great.

Astrid grabbed her ax from him and headed out. Hiccup let out a breath he didn't even know he had been holding as she stepped outside the forge.

"Nice nose, Fishbone!" he heard Snotlout call.

"Shut up," Astrid snapped at him.

* * *

Ruffnut grinned. Already the mare was looking much better and back on her feet, though she still walked with a limp. Ruffnut held out her hand and the mare stepped through the long grass, nickering warmly. She placed her muzzle on Ruff's palm, and when she did, the air seemed to shimmer. The mare pricked her ears, letting out a small puff of breath.

"What the heck was that?" Ruff asked quietly to herself, glancing around.

The mare jumped. Ruffnut raised an eyebrow.

 _Did you just talk to me?_

"Uh... why am I hearing voices?" Ruff asked no one in particular. She was quiet for a moment, then... "And since when do I talk to myself?"

* * *

 **A/N: Reviews are food for an author! Don't let me starve! XD**


	5. Ride to Remember

About two weeks had passed since the night of the dragon raid. Spirit's leg was pretty much completely healed: there were a couple of nasty scars, but they would soon be covered by Spirit's fur. The last of the swelling had gone down a few days ago, and Spirit kept telling Hiccup that it felt fine. Almost as soon as Hiccup stepped in the cove Spirit jumped in front him, looking at Hiccup with pleading eyes and silently begging him for the consent to run.

Hiccup rolled his eyes, but smiled. "Oh... all right."

 _Yes!_

The stallion let out a loud neigh, and reared up into the air, before exploding into a series of happy bucks and leaps around the cove, tossing his mane and whinnying his head off. It matched Hiccup's mood exactly.

The last week had been one of the best in Hiccup's life. Spirit was healed, his dad was in an inexplicable good mood, even the teens teasing seemed to have lessened. But best of all, for the first time in his life, it seemed, he had a friend. True, the friend had four legs, a tail, and a mop of black hair some would call a mane, but he was a true friend.

As Hiccup's thoughts wandered off, Spirit did something unexpected. The stallion slowly walked up to Hiccup and knelt down in front of him. It took him a moment to realize the stallion wanted Hiccup to ride him.

"Er, are you sure?" Hiccup asked, fiddling with the end of his tunic. "I-I've never..."

 _Think of it this way, you'll be the... second person who's ridden me and not gotten thrown off,_ Spirit told him. _Unless of course, I decide to buck you off._

"Okay... um, maybe we shouldn't do this..." Hiccup snatched his hand off where he had placed it on Spirit's mane and took a step back.

 _I was kidding, all right?_ Spirit rolled his eyes, and snorted. _C'mon, you._

"All right, all right," Hiccup muttered, swinging his leg over Spirit's back and twisting his fingers into the stallion's thick black mane.

Spirit took a breath, and rose to his feet. For the first time since coming to Hiccup's world, he stepped out of the cove, leaving the small haven behind him and venturing into the wilderness.

 _Not long now, Rain,_ he thought. _Not long until I find you._

It felt strange to have a human on his back again, but he didn't care, it felt _so good_ to walk again. Every fiber in his body wanted to _run_ again, but he could feel the tension in Hiccup's body, and held himself back, almost quivering from the effort.

He opened his eyes wide and swiveled his ears to catch every sound, swishing his tail from side to side. He wanted to take in everything. It was a gorgeous day, the sun sparkling through the trees, the grass soft beneath his feet. The sun warmed his body and loosened his stiff muscles, and he pranced slightly, feeling limber and ready to run.

Finally, the stallion could take it no longer. Spirit moved quickly into a bumpy trot, then a quick canter, his hooves thrumming on the ground. He felt Hiccup tense, but it only made him more excited, and he lengthened his stride, going into a full-fledged gallop. The scenery around him smoothed into a blur, and the wind screamed in his ears as he ran, tearing up the ground with his hooves, racing the wind.

Spirit couldn't remember a time where he had felt so free. All the heartache, all the trauma he had gone through seemed to melt away, leaving only joy. Pure joy and freedom. No longer was he bound to the earth. He was flying.

Hiccup, however, clung to Spirit's mane and clamped his knees around the stallion's side. He squeezed his eyes shut, hanging on for dear life. He had never, never in his life, gone so fast before. He didn't dare to think what might happen if he should lose his grip.

 _Relax._

Hiccup half-opened his eyes and looked at Spirit, who, hardly slackening his speed, half-turned his head to nicker at him.

 _Trust me._

At the stallion's words, Hiccup began to slowly relaxed his grip. As the stallion galloped on, he began to take in the beauty and wonder. He felt like he was soaring through the air, leaving everything behind him, feeling so... _free_. His face lit up with a grin, and he let out a whoop of exhilaration.

" _Yeah!_ "

After what seemed like a lifetime, Spirit slowed to a walk. The late afternoon quickly deepened into sundown, and by the time they reached the cove it was twilight. Hiccup slid off, his legs, practically giving way beneath him. He had to grab onto Spirit's mane to keep from collapsing.

"Ow... what happened to my legs?" he moaned.

Spirit snickered. _You've never rode a horse before. Might take some time to get used to._

"Yeah... I guess."Hiccup took a step forward. "Ow _."_ He gave Spirit a small grin, then threw his arms around the stallion's neck, hugging him. "Thanks so much. I can't remember the last time I had so much fun."

 _Me either,_ Spirit breathed. He blew into Hiccup's hair, then playfully nipped at it.

Hiccup laughed and gently swatted Spirit's muzzle away. "Stop that!"

* * *

"Dragon raid!"

Ruffnut was rudely awakened by Tuff shouting in her ear.

"Ow!" she yelped, and shoved him away. "Did you really have to do that?" Ruff growled as she jammed on her helmet over her mussed hair. She shot a glare at her brother, but inwardly she was bouncing with excitement at thought of all the chaos and destruction. Fireballs hurling out of dragons' mouths to smash into buildings. The air filled with wings and teeth, the ground with the sharp edges of knives, axes, and spears.

Ruff grabbed a spear, then decided against it, and leaned it back against the wall before pelting out the door after Tuff. Ugh, why did she have to wait so long until she could join the ones actually killing the dragons?!

"This is even better than the last one," Tuff breathed, gazing up at the red sky in wonder. Ruff nodded, her eyes shinning. After taking one last glance around her, Ruff took off towards the town well, the place the teens had agreed to gather during raids. Well, all except for Hiccup, who somehow managed to get into more trouble than Ruff and her brother, which was really saying something.

As they raced through the chaotic town, Ruff saw round, fat Gronkles grab racks of fish and fly off with them. A group of Nadders, their long, spiky tails held out, closed in around a group of terrified sheep.

The sheep made Ruff think of what happened to Rain, and by the time they arrived at the well, she hardly heard what Astrid was saying. She grabbed a loose strand of hair and began chewing on it as she thought of the last dragon raid. Not only had Rain been injured, she had been separated from her mate, and didn't even know if he was alive or dead.

 _But she's fine now,_ Ruff argued with herself. _Her mate probably is too. And,_ come on, _it's not like getting injured in a dragon raid is anything new. Like they say 'it's an occupational hazard'._

"All right, let's go!" Astrid grabbed a bucket and dunked it in the well.

"Anything for you, Astrid," Snotlout replied, and Ruff snickered as the girl pointedly ignored him. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Hiccup watching them from the blacksmith's stall. Well, more like gazing at Astrid with a look of pure adoration.

 _You muttonhead._

* * *

The Night Fury zoomed through the air, eyes narrowing in concentration. There, that tower would do. Anything to keep the Vikings busy while the others got food for the Queen. It had been this way for as long as any dragon could remember: dragons steal from Vikings, Vikings kill dragons. He shot his plasma blast, then spread his wings, soaring upwards.

Suddenly, something wrapped around his body. He roared as he was hurtled helplessly through the air, falling, falling for so long... crashing into a tree, ploughing up the earth. Even in his semi-conscious state he felt the sickening rip of his tail fin, and realized all hope was lost.


	6. A Night for a Fury

_Did anyone see that?_

No one, _no_ one except for a Monstrous Nightmare. It could set its whole body on fire in the blink of an eye, and would have no trouble snapping him into kindling.

Hiccup fled, breath gasping in and out, yelling in terror, cursing his bad luck. He, _Hiccup_ , had just downed a _Night Fury_ , and the only witness was a dragon about to kill him! Hiccup dashed into the plaza and dove behind a pillar. He put his hands in front of his face feeling the hot flames curl around the wooden and metal pole. When they died, he slowly looked to his right, heart pounding in terror. Nothing. Which meant…

Just then he heard a meaty smack from the left, and slumped against the pole, breath whooshing out of his lungs. He watched, mute and breathless as his father drove off the Nightmare with ease Hiccup knew he himself would never be able to attain.

The man turned to Hiccup, and opened his mouth. But before he could stay anything, the smoldering pillar broke in two with a loud CRACK. Hiccup wished he could disappear.

"Sorry... Dad."

The boy cringed as he watched the top of the pillar roll away, freeing the captive dragons. Stoick sighed heavily, rubbing his forehead with one of his enormous hands.

"Why can't you follow the simplest orders?"

Before Hiccup could object, Stoick grabbed him by the tunic, and began dragging Hiccup along behind him as he strode through the crowd.

"But... I-I hit a Night Fury!" It sounded stupid even in his head, but he doggedly continued. "I-It went down just off Raven's point. Let's get a search party out there and-"

" _Stop!_ Just... stop." Stoick dropped Hiccup and swung around, looking so terrible that Hiccup fell silent. "Every time you step outside, disaster follows. Can you not see that I have bigger problems?

Hiccup's shoulders slumped; a bitter taste filled his mouth. It was true. No matter how hard he tried, there were times Hiccup felt he just couldn't do _anything_ right.

He swallowed hard, and said softly, "I can't stop myself, Dad! I see a dragon, and I just have to... kill it, you know? It's who I am." _I just want you to be proud of me. I just want... to do something right, for once._

Stoick groaned. "Oh, Hiccup. You are _many_ things. But a dragon killer is not one of them. Just... get back the house." Stoick turned to Gobber. "Make sure he gets there. I have _his_ mess to clean up." His tone stung Hiccup, and the boy bit his lip, hard. Behind him, the teens snickered quietly, only adding to his cup of bitterness.

* * *

When they arrived at the house, Hiccup finally broke the silence, quietly groaning, "I really did hit it."

"Sure you did," Gobber sighed, and Hiccup could tell the blacksmith didn't believe him.

"He never listens."

"It runs in the family," Gobber replied steadily.

"And when he does, it's always with this... disappointed scowl, like someone skimped on the meat in his sandwich. 'Excuse me barmaid, ' " Hiccup growled, imitating Stoick, " 'I'm afraid you brought me the wrong _offspring!_ I ordered an extra large boy with beefy arms, extra guts and glory on the side. This here, this is a _talking fishbone!_ ' " Hiccup snapped, borrowing Snotlout's new nickname for him.

"Look, Hiccup, just... stop trying so hard to be something ye're not," Gobber told him gently.

Hiccup's shoulders dropped. "I just want to be one of you guys," he muttered, then pushed open the door and disappeared inside. He paused for a moment, then slowly clenched his fist. No one had saw him bring down that Night Fury, so he hardly expected them to believe him. He was going to need proof. Since no one would come with him, he would just have to find it on his own.

* * *

As dawn's warm rays crested the horizon, a dark shadow hurried away from the smoldering town of Berk. The darkened figure paused for a second, enough time for a grim smile. There was no way Stoick's scrawny son could have outrun, outwitted a Nightmare. How could they have guessed things would turn out to be so _easy_? The figure redoubled its speed, black cloak flapping behind it.

Their work here was done.

* * *

Everything was silent. Peaceful. Still. The air was free from the sounds of roaring flames, the clangs of metal against scales. The Night Fury opened his nostrils to inhale the scent of pines. Then he shifted slightly. Ropes bit cruelly into his scales, and in that instant, he remembered what had happened.

 _Oh no._

The dragon struggled but the ropes only grow tighter, and he stopped. He was going to die. There was nothing he could do to change that, nothing. No doubt some Viking would come striding along, lift his weapon and... the last of the Night Furies would be gone.

A slight breeze stirred the grass as he slightly lifted his head to look around. The sky was clotted with grey clouds, the ground slightly misty. Would this be the last time he ever gazed at the sky? With a low moan, he dropped his head back down and closed his eyes.

It was not too much longer that he heard a voice. The dragon's muscles tensed, he wanted to run, to shoot fire, to do _something_! but he didn't move, nor did he open his eyes.

"Oh wow... I did it. I actually _did it!_ This- this fixes _everything!_ " The dragon felt a foot pressing down on his side. "I have brought down this mighty beast-ahhh!" The Night Fury growled, and heard the human stumbling back. He would have snorted in amusement at its cowardice, if the situation hadn't been so serious.

The dragon slowly opened his eyes to gaze upon the Viking. It was a small boy, the smallest Viking the dragon had ever seen. It carried only a small dagger, but there was determination in the its eyes, a recklessness. It had pressed itself up against a rock, but began to slowly advance forward. Slowly, but surely, step by step.

 _Please._ The dragon silently begged. _Please, no! I... don't want to die_.

The young Viking faltered, and its hand shook slightly as it held forth the dagger. "I'm going to kill you, dragon," it snarled. "I'm- I'm gunna cut out your heart and take it to my father. I am a Viking. _I am a Viking!_ "

 _Please... don't._

The Night Fury let out a low moan then squeezed his eyes shut, waiting for the deadly blow that would pierce through his heart and kill him. He had seen it done many times before, now it was his turn. One moment, then two, then many passed, and still the blow had not come to pass.

Instead, he heard the small thud as the blade hit the soggy ground.

"I can't kill you."

The footsteps retreated, as the dragon let out another soft moan. He was alive for now, but still as good as dead. Within a week he would starve to death. And although this human wouldn't kill him, others would do so without a moment's hesitation.

The dragon's eyes flew open as the sawing sound of knife against rope split the air. He could barely believe his ears. He had been spared, not only once, but twice. As soon as the ropes slackened, the dragon leapt up, pinning the boy against a nearby rock. The Night Fury felt him squirm like a captured fish, but he didn't let go, just stared into the young Viking's eyes.

 _You realize I could kill you right now. But I won't. You gave me mercy, and I will do the same to you. A life for a life._

He released his hold, letting forth an ear-splitting roar. Then he turned and swept into the air, but without his tail working properly, he only crashed down the side of a cliff, but managed to open his wings and splash into a pond. When he swam out, the dragon turned and looked back where he came from, his eyes wide and questioning.

 _Why didn't he kill me?_


	7. Question of Loyalties

Hiccup stared after the dragon. His breath came in huge gasps; his head was spinning. A cool breeze swept through his sweat-soaked auburn hair.

 _Did that really just happen?_ he thought. _Did I just... imagine it all?_

But no, there where the pieces of rope and metal at his feet. Seeing it made the realization of what he had just done slam though his body. He could have become a true _Viking_ , could have become accepted.

 _Did I do the right thing?_

He blankly watched as Spirit streaked out from among the trees, and slid to a stop in front of him.

 _What was th-are you alright?_ the stallion demanded, and nudged Hiccup's face when he didn't respond.

Hiccup grabbed Spirit's mane with a shaking hand and heaved himself to his feet. However, as soon as he tried to take a step forward, but his knees gave way. The ground tipped upwards to catch him, and he simply lay there, trying to collect his whirling thoughts.

"I... I don't know."

 _What happened back there?_ Spirit asked, his voice softer. _What happened?_

"One of my 'inventions' finally worked," Hiccup groaned, slowly sitting up. "I brought down a dragon. But I couldn't kill it."

 _So you set it free_ …

Hiccup nodded, and looked at the ground, hugging his knees. Slowly, his breathing steadied.

"We better get back soon, or my Gobber's going to ki-I-I mean, be really mad at me for skipping out on post-dragon-raid-clean up," he finally muttered.

 _I'll give you a ride, then,_ Spirit told him. Hiccup stood up, and though his legs shook slightly, this time they held. He stepped onto a rock, grabbed a piece of Spirit's mane, and scrambled up on the stallion's warm, narrow back.

 _Must be a lot of work_ , the stallion said as he began walking.

"Believe me, it is," Hiccup replied. "Most of the time I'm the one stuck with cleaning it up while all the other teens are off having contests on who can throw a spear the farthest, or... whatever they do." He snorted, but swallowed, hard.

* * *

It was late in the afternoon when Gobber released Hiccup from clean-up duty. He climbed up the stairs, feeling weariness tugging at every bone in his body, when he froze at the sound of his father's voice.

"Hiccup."

Hiccup slowly turned to around to see Stoick standing near the fireplace. "I've been meaning to talk to you."

"I... uh... have to talk to you too, Dad." Hiccup had no idea how to explain what had happened in the last couple hours, but he had to try. He took a deep breath and began, just as his father did too, their words tumbling over each other.

"I think I it's time to don't want to you learned to fight-to fight dragons."

"What?" they both asked.

"You go first," Stoick commanded.

"Uh, no, no! Y-you can!" Hiccup stuttered, jerking his hand through his hair. He looked down and gulped.

Stoick paused for a second, then looked hard at him. "All right. You get your wish. Dragon training. First thing in the morning."

 _What?_

Hiccup almost fell down the stairs, his stomach churned. For his whole life he had begged to be allowed to help in the dragon raids, but his father had brushed the requests aside, saying he would only get in the way. For his whole life he had dreamed about what it would be like to join the ranks of battle-scarred Vikings, to kill a dragon. That is, until he had gotten the chance.

"Oh man. I should have gone first." The words flew out of his mouth, tripping over each other in his haste to get them out. " 'Cause when I was, um, out in the woods, I thought maybe... we don't need any more dragon-killing Vikings? Maybe, uh, what we need is some more... _bread-making Vikings_. Or small-home-repair Vikings?" he asked weakly, grasping for something, _anything_ that might change his dad's mind.

Stoick ignored his pleas. "You'll need this," he said, pulling out a small ax and dropping it into Hiccup's arms, making him stagger.

Hiccup decided to be more blunt. "I don't want to fight dragons," he protested.

"Oh come on. Yes you do!" Stoick scoffed, crossing his arms.

Hiccup wondered if Stoick was even hearing him, if there was any point in continuing. "Dad. I _can't_ kill dragons!"

Stoick sighed, as if to say, _Everyone knows that._ "But you will kill dragons."

"No, I'm really extra sure I can't," Hiccup said. He was ready to drop the ax and leave.

"This is serious son! When you carry this axe, you become one of us. Which means you walk like is, you talk like us, you think like us." Stoick placed a heavy hand on Hiccup's shoulder.

Hiccup wished he could tell his father the thoughts running through his head, to make Stoick understand. _I'm... not one of you. I don't think I ever will be. I don't even know if I want to anyone._

"No more all... this," Stoick continued.

"You just gestured to all of me." _Once again…_

"Deal?"

"This conversation is feeling very one-sided," Hiccup said through gritted teeth.

" _Deal_?" Stoick growled.

Hiccup sighed heavily. "Deal..."

Stoick turned and grabbed a bag. Slinging it over his shoulder, he started to head out the door. "Good. My men and I are going on a search for the nest. I'll be back in a month or so... maybe."

"And I'll be here... probably." _Someday, I'll get out of this dump. Someday._


	8. Forgotten Memories

Hiccup's feet made dull thudding sounds as he hurried through the forest. Here, at least, he could be alone. After a few minutes he made it to a small stream, the water bubbling and gurgling as it splashed over the rocks. Hiccup sank to his knees and plunged his sweaty hands into the cool water, then splashed some over his face.

 _Where have you been all day?_

Hiccup jumped to his feet so quickly, he tripped and fell into the stream. "Don't sneak up on me like that," he spluttered to the stallion.

Spirit gave a small smirk, and buried his muzzle into the water, taking a deep drink. _But where were you? I was looking for you all day._

"Well... dragon training." Hiccup grimaced as memories flashed in front of his eyes. Standing in the kill ring with the five other teens. Fishlegs muttering dragon knowledge. Snotlout joking about how he had "killed" a Night Fury. The Gronckle bursting out of its cage. Grabbing shields. Banging on them. Being pressed against the side by the Gronckle. The wall exploding just above his head.

 _A dragon will always go for the kill,_ Gobber had said. But... why hadn't the Night Fury?

 _I thought you didn't want to kill dragons anymore,_ the stallion said slowly, stepping into the water.

"I don't! I... don't. It's just... I didn't really have much of a choice," Hiccup sighed, and climbed out of the stream. He was soaked to the skin. "Let's just... do you wanna go to the cove?"

 _Gimme a second_ , Spirit replied. He knelt in the stream and rolled in it, feeling the water soak through his coat. Then he got up, and shook himself like a dog, spraying water everywhere.

"Hey!" Hiccup protested, rubbing his face with the driest part of his sleeve.

As they did began walking, Spirit kept looking around for anything, anything, that would give him a clue as to where Rain was. That is, if she was still alive. For he had searched all day, and found no trace of her. _What if she-_ Spirit snorted, stamping his hoof. Hiccup looked at him, but didn't say anything.

They arrived at the cove on a high ledge, where one could take in the entire cove at a glance. Hiccup knelt to examine something on the ground, and Spirit saw it was a small, flat object.

 _What is it?_

"A dragon scale. I-" Hiccup was cut off as a dragon suddenly shot into view, the same that had fallen into the cove the day before. Its claws scrabbled madly against the cove walls for a second, then it fell back, gliding over the pond. Hiccup turned to Spirit. "Why didn't you tell me he was still here?"

 _Because I didn't know! Do you think I'd stick around, after that... thing fell in here?_

"Night Fury," Hiccup muttered. He grabbed a journal out of his vest and slid down to a ledge.

 _What are you doing?_ Spirit asked, raising an eyebrow.

Hiccup didn't answer. He was looking at the dragon flapping around the cove. It never could stay in the air for more that a few seconds.

 _I wonder what's wrong with it?_ Spirit mused to himself. _Its wings look fine._

Hiccup then began making marks in his journal. As Spirit watched him, he drew a picture of the dragon. Hiccup looked at it, then slowly rubbed out half of the dragon's tail.

 _So that's it,_ Spirit realized. _Without half a tail, he'll never be able to fly. He's trapped, just like me._

* * *

Lightning flashed, ripping through the storm clouds, and splitting the sky in half. Then the boom of thunder, low and rumbling. Rain. Pouring down in sheets, soaking everything.

Spirit shivered as he stood huddled under a pine. The tree did little to protect him from the wind and rain, and the stallion was saturated. Through the thunder came the faint growling of the dragon. As the strange noises streamed around him, the stallion began to pace in circles around the tree, his ears flicking back and forth.

Just then, a slow, guttural growl sounded behind Spirit. It was too deep, too throaty to be thunder. Spirit whipped around. A flash of light illuminated the towering hulk of an enormous bear. Arrows protruded from his shoulders. Scars crisscrossed his chest. His teeth glinted.

Mor'du.

 _No_ , Spirit whispered, his ears flattening. _You're dead. I- I watched you die!_

By the next flash, Mor'du had vanished.

Suddenly, the beatings of many wings, all in unity, rang out above him. The stallion looked up to see what must have been hundreds, if not thousands, of dragons sweeping across the sky. Even though they were far away, the stallion could see each of their faces clearly. Every one bore a look of terror, eyes darting back and forth, wings straining to go faster. They were fleeing.

 _W-what's going on?_

Spirit looked behind them, and his heartbeat quickened at the sight of their pursuer. It was an enormous dragon; six eyes glaring, bat-like wings sweeping through the air, spines protruding into the sky. It opened its mouth and let out an explosion of flames that melted some of the storm clouds, and caused the rain to hiss. Spirit closed his eyes against the searing heat that spread across his body.

He opened them to see a gleam of a car lurking in the shadows. Black smoke curled around it. Then came Greybar's scream of terror. A sickening crash rang out, shattering the air.

The stallion felt like he had plunged into ice water; the breath was swept out of his lungs. _Why, why have you come back to haunt me?! Leave me alone! Stop it!_ Spirit whimpered. He began backing up, only to feel his back legs scrape against metal. He spun around, eyes rimmed with white.

He couldn't take it anymore.

Spirit tried to run, tried to flee, but everywhere he turned, dark, grey walls seemed to spring up in front of him, enclosing him. There was no escape.

There had been no escape from the three portals he had fallen through. They had been random. Unforgiving. Forgotten...

He had forgotten.

Spirit lurched as he finally realized how he had come to this world.

* * *

It had been a stormy night, somewhat like this one. Streaks of lightning would flash almost as soon as the last one had died away, making the sky flicker with light. Spirit knew he had to get his herd to the safety of a cave, before things got even worse. They had just found one when Spirit realized one of the yearlings was missing. There was nothing to do but go back out and search for it. By now the lightning was striking constantly, the sky filled with an unnatural glow.

He found the young colt cowering under a tree, shaking like leaf in the howling winds.

 _Come on!_ Spirit neighed to him. _We have to get out of here!_

Pushing the colt in front of him, Spirit began galloping back towards the cave. _Just keep going. Don't look back._

They had almost made it when the sky erupted with a purplish-blue brilliance. Pain flooded through Spirit's body, and he collapsed on the ground, jerking and spasoming. Lights winked on and off behind his closed lids; he felt his muscles being jerked, squeezed, pushed and pulled. Strangest of all, he heard the faint sound of... _music._ Sad, haunting music that swirled around him.

How long Spirit lay there he did know... minutes, hours? It seemed time had disappeared.

 _I'm t-the one who created the portals,_ Spirit gasped. He couldn't breathe. _What have I done?_

He let out a loud cry, though it was drowned out in the pouring rain. _I'm sorry, Greybar!_ he cried out, as if the stallion could hear him. _I'm so sorry, Rain!_ A deep shudder ran through the mustang, his legs shaking so badly he could barely remain standing. Greybar's death, Rain's injury... what had he done?

 _Please... I'm sorry,_ he begged. _I-I'm so, s-s-so sorry... I didn't mean to do this to you!_

Spirit cast one last glance around the trees, then bolted. He didn't care where he went, he only wished to get away, get away from the fear, the darkness that clung to him. He ran on and on, breath tearing in his throat, heart pounding against his chest. Finally he stumbled, falling headlong into the mud.

 _I'm so sorry. I'm s-sorry._

* * *

Hiccup hurried out of the Great Hall and into the pouring rain. It dripped into his hair, and squished through his shoes. As he wiped water out of his eyes, Hiccup saw a dark shadow running into the village. It looked like... a horse.

 _Is that... Spirit?! What is he doing here?_

As Hiccup ran towards the figure, the stallion stumbled into the mud. Spirit heaved himself to his feet as Hiccup approached, but dropped his head. He was shaking all over.

"Hey.. a-are you alright?" Hiccup asked quietly, lightly touching Spirit's shoulder.

Spirit looked up at Hiccup with bleary eyes. _I'm the reason h-he died._

Hiccup slowly ran his hand down the stallion's muddy neck. "It's not your fault,"he whispered, even though he had no idea what Spirit was talking about. "It's okay, Spirit. Follow me."

Slowly, Hiccup led Spirit up to his house, and swung open the door. Thank goodness his dad wasn't home; Hiccup was sure he would have a hard time explaining why he was bringing a horse inside.

The stallion stepped in after him, and watched blankly as Hiccup coaxed the coals into a blazing fire. Then he disappeared upstairs and grabbed a coarse blanket from the corner of the room.

He plopped down next Spirit in front of the fireplace and began wiping excess water and mud from the stallion with the blanket.

 _Thanks_ , Spirit muttered, and touched the boy's arm gently with his muzzle.

Hiccup shrugged, looking down. "No problem."

They both were silent for a moment, then Spirit said softly, _I, um, guess you want to know what was going on... back there._

"It's... okay if you don't want to tell me."

 _I feel like my mind will explode if I don't tell someone, because I'm so... scared. And confused,_ Spirit confessed, and Hiccup saw him tremble a little.

Hiccup remained silent, and began to slowly brush the drying mud from Spirit's coat. The stallion seemed to relax as Hiccup did this, and let out a heavy sigh.

 _I'm... I'm not from here._

"What?" Hiccup dropped the blanket, and stared at Spirit.

 _I came to this world through... this thing called a portal_ , Spirit said, stumbling over his words.

As Hiccup listened, the stallion told him a tale so incredible he could hardly help but believe it. A tale about great metal beasts with the ability to run faster than a dragon, that had killed one of Spirit's closest friends. About a spirited redheaded girl who changed her mother into a bear. Being reunited with his mate... only to have her ripped away from him again. Finding out that he, Spirit, was the one who had caused it all.

Hiccup was silent for a while, going over and over all he had heard. Finally he whispered quietly, "You've sure been through a lot."

 _At least I got a friend out of it,_ Spirit gave a half-smile, and shoved him gently.

Hiccup was quiet for a minute, turning the things Spirit had said over and over in his mind. Then he spoke. "Do you think this has… something to do with, y'know, the fact that we can talk to one another?"

 _I wouldn't be surprised,_ Spirit sighed. _There's just still so much I don't understand..._

"Every time," Hiccup mused, looking at Spirit, "you've created a portal, you've been pretty shaken up. When you first got hit, when your herd got attacked by wolves, when Greybar died, when _you_ almost died..."

 _Then... why didn't I create one half an hour ago?_

"Perhaps you're getting more control over it. Perhaps you'll be able to control it completely, someday," Hiccup said thoughtfully.


	9. Secrets of the Dragons

As the night dragged on, Hiccup stared into the fire, stirring the coals with a poker. Thoughts of everything that had happened in the last couple days kept flitting through his mind. Once or twice he tried to talk to Spirit again, but the stallion said nothing.

The hearth blurred before Hiccup's eyes and he curled up beside the stallion, laying his head on Spirit's shoulder. Snatches of sentences, half-formed memories from the evening, crept in to his thoughts, before streaking out again.

 _Where did Astrid go wrong in the ring today?_

 _I mistimed... it was sloppy…_

 _Yeah... we noticed._

 _Where did Hiccup go wrong?_

 _He didn't get eaten…_

 _The Dragon Manual. Everything we know about dragons…_

 _Read? While we're still alive?_

 _I've read it like five times!_

 _...Uh... all mine then... you guys go... yeah…_

Then the dragons came. It seemed that the line between reality and imagination had been blurred. Now, it wasn't just words, but images. The different dragons swarmed before his eyes, their faces angry, afraid, satisfied, sorrowful.

 _Thunderdrum...inhabits sea caves. Extremely dangerous, kill on sight._

 _Timberjack. Razor-sharp wings... can cut thorough trees. Extremely dangerous, kill on sight._

 _Scauldron. Shoots scalding water._

 _Extremely dangerous…_

 _Gronkle. Zippleback. Skrill. Boneknapper. Whispering Death._

 _Kill on sight…_

 _Night Fury. Speed unknown. Size unknown. The unholy offspring of lighting and death itself. Never engage this dragon. Your only chance: hide and pray it does not find you._

* * *

Another day in the ring. Gobber had made them set up many wooden walls, making the arena into a maze. However, this wasn't an ordinary maze. This maze held a Deadly Nadder, a bluish dragon with only two legs and spines sticking out the the back of its head.

Ruff dashed after her brother down a tunnel, only to find it was a dead end.

"I told you we should have gone the other way," she complained, shoving Tuff. She pushed past him and ran by Hiccup, who was talking to Gobber about something, and not really paying attention to the battle raging around him.

"Hey, you know, I just happened to notice," he was saying, "the book had nothing on Night Furies. Is there another book... maybe a sequel? A Night Fury pamphlet? Ahh!" Hiccup yelled in surprise as the top of his ax exploded.

 _Serves you right, Muttonhead,_ Ruff laughed.

"Today is all about _attack_! Nadders are quick and light on their feet. Your job is to be quicker, and lighter."

Ruff gulped as she turned a corner and found herself standing directly in front of the Nadder.

"Look for its blind spot. Every dragon has one! Find it, hide in it, and strike!" she heard Gobber advise.

Ruff moved with the Nadder, staying in its blind spot, when, suddenly, a sickening odor filled her nose. "Ick! Do you ever bathe?" she hissed, not taking her eyes of the blue dragon.

"If you don't like it, why don't you get your own blind spot?" Tuff retorted, shoving her backwards.

"Why don't I give _you_ a blind spot!" Ruff yelled back, and hit him on the helmet with her spear. The dragon roared, and Ruff dove out of the way, pulling Tuff with her as the Nadder spat flames at them.

"Blind spot, yes. Deaf spot? Not so much," Gobber chuckled from outside the ring.

When they made it to the end of another passage, Ruff stopped to catch her breath. She heard the dragon roar from somewhere in the maze, and wondered what it would be like to kill her first dragon, driving her spear into its body.

 _What if I was a dragon, Ruff?_

The memory of Rain's words broke through the image.

 _What if I was an injured dragon, instead of an injured horse? Would you kill me?_

 _They attack us! It's self-defense!_

 _It wouldn't be if I was injured._

Ruff dug her fingernails into her palms, trying to push the thoughts out of her mind, when she heard Astrid screaming.

" _Hiccup!_ "

She spun around to see Astrid vaulting over the walls, the Nadder crashing behind her, and the walls of the maze flying everywhere.

The wall in front of Ruff crashed to the ground. When the dust cleared, she saw Astrid had landed on top of Hiccup, her ax lodged into Hiccup's shield. She let out a quiet snigger. Astrid, the one who always did everything right, was stuck, quite literally, with Hiccup the Useless.

"Ooh, love on the battlefield!" Tuff taunted.

"She could do better," Ruff scoffed. _After all, she's the one who can choose any man on the island._

Astrid tried to jerk her ax out, but it was stuck tight.

"Let me- why don't you-" Hiccup stammered.

Astrid looked up and gasped. The Nadder was shaking off bits of wood and was looking very angry indeed. Astrid wrenched the shield off Hiccup's arm and smashed it into the dragon's face. Ruff winced in spite of herself.

Astrid turned to Hiccup, who was curled up on the floor. "Is this some sort of joke?" she flared. "Our parents' war is about to become ours. Figure out what side you're on." With that, she stalked angrily away.

At her words, Ruff became quiet. _Figure out what side you're on,_ she echoed.

* * *

Spirit wandered through the forest, half awake, half asleep. All night long he had stayed awake, afraid of what terrors might plague him, should he fall asleep. He had jerked at every sound, every groan of a floorboard, every crackle of a breaking log. When the dawn appeared, pink and gold on the horizon, he had woken Hiccup up, and had the boy let him out of the house.

Spirit blinked and looked around. When he saw where he was, Spirit took a few steps back, his head held up, ears held stiffly forward. Somehow, he had wound up in the cove. Spirit's eyes darted over the terrain, and saw the dragon by the pond. It kept staring at the surface of the water, then ducking its head under. Giving a few short growls, the Night Fury turned around, then froze when it saw Spirit.

They stared at each other for a minute: Spirit's nostrils flaring, the dragon crouched low to the ground. Then, slowly, Spirit let himself relax somewhat. If the dragon really wanted to kill him, he probably would have done so already. Intimidating as he was, the Night Fury was nothing compared to what he endured last night.

Finally, Spirit lowered his head, though his ears remained pricked. The dragon's ear plates perked, and he made a guttural sound, somewhat like a purr.

 _Who are you?_ Spirit murmured, as he knelt down and half-closed his eyes in exhaustion.

* * *

The Night Fury opened his nostrils and caught the smell of human. As it grew stronger, he recognized it as the same human who spared him, the one who visited him the day before. Still, he flattened his body against the rock like a cat, his tail sweeping back and forth.

He watched as the boy cautiously stepped into the cove, clutching a slimy... _delicious-smelling_ fish _._ At the other side of the cove, the Night Fury saw the stallion quickly rise to his feet, crunching up the apple the teenager gave.

The dragon tilted his head to the side, then slowly leaped down from the rock. The young Viking spun around and gasped, but then slowly held out the fish. Beside him, the horse glanced at the boy, then at the dragon.

The dragon's every instinct screamed at him not to go closer, but his hunger and the smell of fish were overpowering. The dragon slowly sidled up to the boy, but his eye caught the glint of metal on his belt and he jerked back, his wings held up and his head low to the ground.

Clutching the fish to his chest, the Viking slowly moved his hand to the knife.

 _You better not try and use that thing,_ the dragon snarled, narrowing his eyes.

The horse stepped forward and snorted, as if challenging him to try and hurt the teenager. Despite his growls, the boy pulled out the small knife and held it at arm's length, then dropped it and kicked it into the pond. Immediately, the dragon stopped snarling. His head came up, his wings went down, and his eyes widened. Once more the dragon came up to the boy, retracting his teeth into his gums.

"Huh," the teenager muttered, seeing his gummy mouth. "Toothless. I could have sworn you had..." Before he could finish his sentence, the Night Fury shot out his teeth to grab the fish. He swallowed it whole, feeling the food sink into his empty stomach. "... teeth," the young Viking finished weakly.

The Night Fury licked his lips, searching for every last drop of flavor, then looked at the teenager. Perhaps he had more. The dragon moved closer, and the cowardly Viking scrambled back.

"Uh, no, no, I don't have any more," he stammered, falling down, and beginning to crawl backwards on all fours. He backed up against a rock, and whispered, "Really. I don't."

The dragon stopped, disappointed, then an idea came into his head. He burped up the tail into the boy's lap, then sat back on his haunches, watching him.

 _A token of my gratitude._

"Ugh."

 _It's like he's never seen a fish before,_ the Night Fury sighed inwardly. He continued to look at the boy, then glanced at the fish, before returning his gaze.

At this, the stallion seemed to realize what the dragon meant, for he whinnied loudly, kicking up his heels and cantering away.

The teenager looked down at the fish again, sighed, then reluctantly raised the fish to his mouth and took a bite. "Mmmm..." he groaned.

 _Now, you swallow it,_ the dragon instructed, gulping a little.

With some difficulty the teenager swallowed, then shuddered. "Uh," he moaned. The dragon let out a contented purr.

Just then, the boy did a strange thing. His lips curved up, and his mouth half-opened. The dragon narrowed his eyes, studying the boy, then tried it himself.

 _Interesting._

However, as soon as the boy reached out to touch him, the dragon let out a snarl to let him know that he _was_ still a wild dragon. He tried to take to the air, but only crashed to the ground, like he had done so many times before.

 _Stupid tail. Stupid Vikings._

He warmed the ground with his breath, then curled up for a nap. The twittering of a bird caught his attention, and he lifted his head to watch. As his gaze followed its flight, he saw the boy sitting next to him.

The dragon put his head back down, and shielded his face with his tail fin, in an _I-can't-see-you-therefore-you-don't-exist_ type of gesture. He realized the teenager would most likely try to touch him again, so lifted his one-finned tail, startling the young Viking, who quickly rose and walked away.

 _Finally, I'll be able to get some sleep!_

"I'll call him Toothless," Hiccup said, thinking of the dragon's gummy mouth.

 _Interesting name for a dragon,_ Spirit muttered sleepily, watching Hiccup as he drew a picture of the dragon in the sand.

It seemed as though the newly named dragon had heard them, because just then the Night Fury-Toothless-came up to them, purring a little. He watched curiously for a second, then bounded off. Hiccup heard a crack, and saw that Toothless had grabbed a tree branch in his mouth.

 _What is that for?_ Hiccup wondered.

Toothless pushed the stick into the ground, dragging it alongside him. The dragon almost seemed to be dancing, stepping and twirling around with his branch, all the while purring contentedly.

Spirit cocked his head to the side and snorted. Hiccup, however, took a step forward, putting a foot on one of the lines. Toothless snarled, showing his teeth.

 _Whoops. Angry dragon alert._

Hiccup quickly took his foot off it, and the dragon relaxed. Then Spirit tried to go up to Hiccup, cautiously putting a hoof on the grass. Purr. The stallion took another step. Growl. Spirit looked down and picked up his hoof. Purr.

"Er... I think he doesn't want us stepping on his artwork, eh bud?" Hiccup asked tentatively. _If you could call it that._

Toothless let out a contented purr, pricking up his ear plates. Hiccup looked down and began making his way out of the drawing. He was so absorbed in not stepping on a line, that he was caught by surprise when he felt hot breath on the top of his head. Hiccup slowly turned and looked into the dragon's eyes.

Hiccup reached with his hand forward, but the Night Fury snarled slightly. Hiccup stepped back, let out a long breath, and turned away; not touching the dragon, simply holding out his hand. All at once he felt the rough dragon scales pushing against his sweaty palm, warm breath curling over his fingers.

It was only one moment, but it seemed go on into eternity. Two individuals of wildly different species, whose ancestors had been at war for centuries, were bonded together.

* * *

Spirit watched silently. Thickness filled his throat, almost choking him. As he turned and slowly walked away, hooves dragging over the grass, it seemed a chunk of ice had burrowed into his heart.

 _I don't belong here. It's all a mistake._


	10. Seeing is Believing

He dreamed of her that night. Her hooves floating over the grass, her mane and tail gently waving in the wind, her eyes sparking with mischief. She called out to him, and he ran to her. Her soft, gentle nickers reached his ears, and he bounded forward.

He breathed in her warm scent, and let out a loud whinny, wanting to bury his muzzle into her soft mane. He yearned for her comforting touch.

 _Spirit._

 _Rain... my Rain._

Just before he would have reached her, she turned from him. He bolted after her, but a dark abyss sprang up between them. From across the ravine, she turned to look at him, tears welling in her eyes.

 _I'm sorry, Spirit._

He felt as if his heart were shattering, the peices raining down around him to rest on the grey grass. She was his only connection to his homeland, his only hope... and she torn from him.

 _Please, no!_ he cried, his voice breaking. _Rain, please! Don't leave me!_

His chest ached; he felt hollow inside. She gave him one last soft, sad nicker, and was gone.

 _No._

* * *

"A downed dragon, is a dead dragon."

Each word felt like a blow of the hammer, the echoes reverberating through Hiccup's ears. It was the end of another day. The teens were with him at the top of a tower, roasting hunks of meat, as Gobber told the tale of how he had lost both his hand and foot.

Hiccup stared into the fire, feeling the heat wash over his face as thoughts began scurrying through his mind.

 _Dead dragon..._ without a tail, Toothless would be trapped in that cove forever, unable to fly.

 _But what if..._ he thought, starting to sit up straighter, _what if I made him another tail?_ With that simple sentence, ideas began to pour into his brain, jumbling and tangling up, like strings of delicate thread. Slowly, carefully, Hiccup began to untangle them.

Still sorting, Hiccup quietly got up and left the circle, the teens' voices fading out from behind him.

"Your mom let you get a tattoo?"

"It's not a tattoo, it's a birthmark."

"Okay... I've been stuck with you since birth, and that was never there before."

Toothless opened his eyes and yawned, feeling the sun beat down on him from his place on the rock. The stallion... what was his name? had slipped out of the cove early that morning by a passageway too narrow for him to follow. Even if the dragon could, he still wouldn't be able to get off the island. The Night Fury rolled over on his back, then almost fell off the edge. In a moment, he twisted back to his stomach and ungracefully scrambled down to the ground, glad no one was around.

As he raised his head, he caught the scent of the boy, Hiccup, which was almost overpowered by fish.

 _Why does he care so much about me?_ Toothless wondered. _Why does he keep coming back?_

Soon the Viking boy entered the cove, carrying a wicker basket. "Hey Toothless," he called, as the dragon sidled away. He still wasn't used to having Vikings in such close proximity. "I brought breakfast," he dumped the basket on the ground, fish spilling out onto the ground with a _slurp,_ "so I hope you're hungry!"

 _Are you kidding? I could eat a whale!_ Toothless snorted, stretching his head forward to sniff the fish.

"I've got some salmon," Hiccup said, beginning to edge around him.

 _Haven't had one of those in ages!_

"Some nice Icelandic cod..."

 _"Nice" is an understatement,_ Toothless thought, trying to pick out the different smells of fish. There was one that smelled suspiciously like…

"...and a whole smoked eel."

 _Wait a second, are you trying to poison me?!_ Toothless' eyes narrowed at Hiccup, and the dragon began growling slightly as he took a step back.

"Uh, you don't like eel?" Hiccup held it up.

Toothless raised his wings and roared. _Get that thing away from me!_

"No, no, no!" Hiccup said quickly, and threw it off to the side, obviously realizing his mistake. "It's all right. I don't really like eels either."

His voice was gentle and calm even though it held a touch of nervousness, and Toothless relaxed again, digging his nose into the fish to check if there was anymore eels. Satisfied, he began gulping them down.

He heard the boy muttering to himself as he walked around, but Toothless kept eating, absorbed in filling his belly after two days of hardly eating anything. He felt and hand brush against his tail and swept it away, irritated. He felt it again, and swept it away once more, while shoving his face into the basket where the smell of fish still lingered.

Toothless gave a snort as he felt a band tighten just above the fin of his tail. Then, something _was attached to the fin_. His tail was _whole._ The dragon wriggled in anticipation, then he could stand it no longer: he took off.

But even though his tail was whole... it did not work. Toothless felt himself loosing control, like he had done so many times before; he was going to crash into the wall…

The tail snapped open, and suddenly Toothless found he could turn. He was _free!_ Toothless swung around and glided back over the pond. Then he heard a voice shouting in triumph. He looked behind to see none other than Hiccup, clinging onto his tail for dear life.

 _I don't give free rides,_ Toothless thought, rolling his eyes. The dragon flicked his tail, flinging Hiccup into the pond.

However, the moment the boy let go, the tail became useless, nothing but a heap of metal and canvas. Toothless strained his wings, but simply tumbled into the pond himself, sending up a huge splash of water.

"Yeah!" Hiccup yelled, pumping his fists into the air.

* * *

Ruff couldn't believe what idiots Snotlout and her brother could be. They were learning to fight the Hideous Zippleback, strange dragon with two heads. One head would breathe gas, and the other would create the sparks to ignite it. Gobber had separated the teens into pairs and supplied them with buckets of water to quench the correct head. With all the smoke in the arena, Tuff and Snotlout had thought Astrid and her were the Zippleback. Now she was soaking wet.

As she chucked the empty bucket at Tuff, for calling her a dragon, a tail snaked out of nowhere, tripping both her and Astrid. Now only Hiccup and Fishlegs remained with full buckets. As luck would have it, both wasted them.

 _Uh... this isn't good,_ Ruff thought, beginning to back out of the arena. She stopped at the sound of Hiccup's voice.

"Don't make me tell you again. Get back!"

Ruff looked back, her jaw dropping in amazement. Hiccup... was he... what was he doing? The Zippleback was backing away from him, into its cage. It stayed there while Hiccup shut the doors. As she quickly glanced around, she saw the others shared her feelings.

"Well, are we done?" Hiccup casually asked, turning around and wiping his hands on his tunic. "Because... I got some things I need to, uh..." he ran off.

 _Well that was... unexpected._

* * *

Hiccup couldn't believe it. Every day, he learned more about dragons. Every day, he got one step closer to flying with Toothless. Every day, his life got a little bit better.

First, the saddle. Hiccup gathered strips of leather and crossed them over and over, stitching them all together into a flat, oval-shaped pad. That done, Hiccup decided to find a way to keep the prosthetic fin open. He tried attaching a string to it, and holding on to it with his hand, but once, when he pulled too hard, they both tumbled into the water. To keep himself from flying off, Hiccup made a harness for himself, with a strap and hook that attached to the saddle.

He not only learned things that would help in riding dragons, he learned about the dragons themselves. Like how they would relax when they smelled a certain type of grass Hiccup called "dragon-nip". Or how they loved to be scratched at the base of their neck, falling over when touched in a certain place below their chin.

All of this knowledge Hiccup put to work in the arena. And it was paying off. No longer was he the laughingstock of the village, the source of all the teasing and taunting, he was almost a hero. He could hardly step out his house without being swarmed by his new "fans". It seemed Ruff, especially, had taken a liking to him.

However, one thing was bothering him. Through all this time, Hiccup saw little of Spirit.

* * *

Spirit let out a long sigh and kicked at the ground. The darkened, grumbling sky above him matched his feelings exactly. It had been weeks, and he had seen no trace of other horses. He was beginning to believe he might be the only one. That Rain might be... dead.

The stallion swallowed hard. If only he had been faster, if only he had been able to reach her in time…

A stone settled into his stomach, and he pawed, pinning his ears back. Again and again his hoof struck the ground, digging into the dirt. Letting out a loud neigh, he reared into the air, striking out before coming back down with a snort. Why? Why had he come here? Why had he been cursed with this awful ability? It had caused nothing but damage and heartbreak. _Why?_ He just wasn't meant to be here _._

As the stallion began walking, his anger ebbed away, leaving a great weariness. His muzzle drooped until it was almost touching the ground. He felt so alone these days. He had no one. Spirit longed so badly to be with other horses again, to be _home,_ but it seemed impossible.

He wondered if Hiccup had even noticed he had gone. The boy was so busy with Toothless these days.

Out of habit, his hooves began to tread the familiar path to the cove. When he reached the entrance, Spirit saw Hiccup with Toothless, scratching the dragon just behind his head, while it purred loudly with pleasure. Spirit averted his eyes, a lump growing in his throat.

 _Didn't even notice I was gone._

Hiccup looked up to see the Spirit near the edge of the cove.

"Spirit!" he called, but the stallion remained where he was. "Spirit?" It came out as a question this time.

Slowly, the mustang came over, his hooves dragging. _What?_ he asked, so quietly Hiccup could barely hear him.

"Um..." Hiccup said, trying to think of something to say. "Um... I think that Toothless will be ready to fly in a couple days."

 _Oh. That's great._ Spirit's voice was monotone. As Hiccup looked at him, he saw that the mustang's eyes had dulled, his coat lacked luster. _Then you can just fly off and leave me behind. I don't belong here anyway_. Spirit turned away.

Toothless had come up beside him, his eyes concerned. He crooned softly and nudged the stallion, making him look up.

"Spirit, I'm so sorry," Hiccup breathed, holding out his hand and letting the stallion rest his muzzle on it, feeling the warm breath flooding out of the stallion's nostrils. How had he not noticed this before? Why hadn't he paid more attention? "I didn't mean to abandon you, I really didn't, it's just... I'm sorry."

Spirit glanced away, looking uncomfortable, but simply said. _Sorry, that was mean of me. I'm just... I'm beginning to think Rain's gone._

"This is a big island," Hiccup said quickly. "I'm sure Rain's out there somewhere. When Toothless is able to fly, we can all go looking for her; you from the ground, us from the air."

Spirit gave him a half-hearted smile. _Thank you._

* * *

"I mean, he's not really hurting them... he's just... controlling them. But he still won't answer any of my questions. It's always 'Oh, uh, gotta go!' " Ruff groaned as she lay on her back, staring at the ceiling of the cave.

 _So... maybe you don't have to kill them?_ Rain prodded.

Ruff snorted, ignoring the question. "Astrid is _furious!_ Guess she's not used to being bested. Who'd have guessed a scrawny, clumsy, _Hiccup_ would turn out to be such a great dragon... _trainer_?" she trailed off.

 _You've sure been talking a lot about him lately._

"Yeah. So what, Rain?"

 _I think you're sweet on him_. Rain moved into Ruffnut's vision and smirked.

Ruff scowled at the mare and sat up. "What?! I am _not!_ "

The mare gave a loud whinny of triumph, and began to prance in circles around her, much to Ruffnut's disgust.

 _Ruff li-kes Hic-cup, Ruff li-kes Hic-cup,_ she chanted in a sing-song voice.

Jumping up, Ruff grabbed a spear she had happened to bring along, holding it threateningly. "I have a spear, and... I'm not afraid to use it!"

 _Ruff li-ikes Hic-cup!_

Ruff groaned in despair, and facepalmed. You're worse than Tuffnut," she muttered.

* * *

A young man plodded across the sandy stones, his leather shoes slapping against the rocks, his tattered black cloak billowing behind. Out of nowhere a flock of Terrible Terrors swooped down down on him, their loud cries sweeping through the silence. The hooded figure pulled an arrow from his quiver, and waved them off, laughing quietly.

"Aw, get outta here; you're not getting anything from me."

Hissing angrily, the Terrors left. The young man smiled as he watched them, letting the black hood fall to his shoulders. They were sort of cute, he thought, as he made his way to the cavern.

The late afternoon sun flooded through the cave's mouth, making the shadows lengthen. Moisture dripped from the stalactites, creating small puddles on the rocky ground.

His sister, a girl of sixteen sat at the mouth of the cave, staring blankly towards the sea. When he walked up and nudged her, the girl shrieked and jumped up, grabbing a dagger on her belt.

"Relax, Kari," he snorted. "You're as jumpy as a rabbit." He dropped a rather large squirrel on the ground. "Brought some supper. It's all I could find. Those stupid dragons are scaring away all the game, what with their constant raids and all. It'll do, though, right?"

Kari sighed, and put the dagger back in its sheath, rolling her eyes. "Elrik, at eighteen, you still act like a child." She wrinkled her nose. "Something smells weird. It's coming from your cloak, isn't it? When's the last time you washed that thing?"

Elrik shrugged, then lifted a hand to feel his dark brown hair. "I think it was the last time you cut my hair. It's still pretty choppy, so… not _too_ long ago, I guess."

"Oh, give me a break! It's not like I can see it!" Kari snapped, scowling.

"Sorry... wasn't thinking."

"You're never thinking," Kari snorted as she pulled out her dagger and began skinning the squirrel. For a moment she stopped, then smirked. "Oh, I almost forgot. It's a new week tomorrow. My turn to go hunting, and _your_ turn to do the cooking."

"You sure you want to go alone?"

"Yes, I'm sure!" Kari felt around on the ground and picked up a stick, her fingers running over the notches she had made. "We've been here a couple weeks, I know the terrain well enough to go on my own."

Elrik was quiet for a moment, debating whether or not to tell his sister what he had seen. "He's alive," Elrik finally muttered, pulling off his quiver of arrows, and dropping them with a clatter to the ground.

"What?" Kari turned her sightless eyes to him, her fingers curving around the dagger's handle.

"Hiccup. He's still alive. Saw him walking through the woods, while I was hunting," Elrik sighed. _Why did I even open my mouth?_

"Why. Didn't. You. Kill him?" Kari hissed.

 _Because... maybe he doesn't deserve to die! There's been too much death already,_ Elrik yelled in his mind, but all he only muttered, "We need to think through this carefully."

"The only thing we have to think about is what Stoick will feel like, watching his only son die. Maybe then he'll understand the pain we went through," Kari spat out at him.


	11. Terminal Velocity

Autumn had reached its peak. The few maples that were scattered throughout the forest had burst into vibrant colors of red and orange. The days were getting shorter and shorter, though, and often Hiccup would have to pause in his work with Toothless because it would become too dark to see.

Spirit and him were on good terms once more, the stallion now very interested in all the things Hiccup had learned about dragons. It was nice to have Spirit, to tell everything he learned to the mustang, though the stallion probably understood little of what he said.

A knife thudded into a nearby pine. Hiccup froze slowly turning to where it had come from. Had someone found him out? After that terrible thought, a thousand explanations flew into his head. He wanted some time alone, he was working on a new project, he found inspiration for "fighting" dragons in the woods.

Hiccup slowly turned around, but he saw no one. Something slammed him face-first into the ground, knocking all the air out of his lungs. There was nothing left in his lungs, but he couldn't breath. As Hiccup struggled to inhale, he heard the scraping of metal against metal.

"Poor, puny, little Hiccup. Runt of the litter. Father's failure. Disaster just _waiting_ to happen. I guess not many people will miss you." The words were spat out, the tone mocking.

The voice... it was unfamiliar, and yet... _familiar_. The harsh, yet feminine voice... he tried to twist his head and see who was talking, but something shoved his face back into the dirt. Hiccup felt a foot pressing on his back, like he was some prized kill, but for now he was just glad it was on his back and not his throat.

"Oh, yes, they like you _now_ , but fame is fickle, and by tomorrow, people will have forgotten you ever existed. You know, I'm doing them a favor, getting rid of all this."

Hiccup couldn't shout for help with his voice; he could barely breath. This person was insane.

 _Why are you trying to kill me?!_

"I've been waiting a long time for this moment, Hiccup. A long time."

Hiccup felt his heart speeding so fast it sounded like hoofbeats. Hoofbeats... Hiccup suddenly felt the weight released from his back, and heaved in a breath of air. He cautiously sat up and looked around, but the only thing he saw was the flash of a black cloak. Just then, Spirit and Toothless came thundering in, followed by the one person Hiccup _least_ expected to see.

* * *

"What is it, Rain?"

The mare had stopped suddenly, her ears pricked forward. The wind whistled slightly through the pines and birds chirped loudly, but Ruff could hear nothing else, nothing unusual.

 _Thought I heard..._ the mare's ear twitched. _There it is again._

"Probably a hare or something; Thor knows we've got plenty of those," Ruff yawned, leaning back on her palms, taking in her surroundings from her place on the Rain's bare back. "Why is your back so bony?"

 _One: be quiet, I'm trying to listen! Two: my back is not that bony!_ Rain snapped impatiently, flicking her ears back and forth.

"I'm gonna see if I can get a pad or something, because it's really-AHHH!"

Ruff could never quite remember how she managed to stay on Rain's back. One moment, the mare was standing perfectly still; the next, she was galloping at full speed. Her hands instinctively grabbed onto Rain's mane and her knees clamped around the mare's side.

"What are you doing Rain?! I'm sorry, okay?" Ruff yelled.

 _I heard him! I heard Spirit!_

Ruff didn't respond. She was focusing all her energy on clinging for dear life to the mare's flying mane. Suddenly Rain scrambled to a spot and shied violently, rearing into the air. Ruff finally lost her grip, and landed with a smack on the ground. She thought she heard the roar of a dragon, and Hiccup's voice yelling, "I'm okay, I'm _okay!"_

 _What the_ heck _is going on?_

Ruffnut shoved her helmet out of her eyes, protesting, "Rain! What was that... _augh_!" The girl scrambled back as she saw a large black dragon growling at her. It was different than any other she had seen before. Ruff gaped. _Is it... a Night Fury?!_

Hiccup quickly moved to the dragon, placing a hand on it's head. "It's okay. She's not going to hurt us."

Ruff stared at him and the Night Fury. Everything was falling into place. His disappearances into the forest, his sudden success at dragon fighting, his hurried excuses… he had been making friends... with a _dragon._ Just then, the words Hiccup had said the night of dragon raid came rushing back. _"I shot a Night Fury! Just of Raven's Point!"_

"You actually did hit it," she whispered to Hiccup. Everything was silent now. It seemed to her the entire forest had stilled, listening. Ruff wrinkled her nose, thinking of Rain's words. "Why didn't you kill it? I mean, anyone else would have," she added frankly.

"I know, three hundred years and I'm the first Viking who couldn't... no, who _wouldn't_ kill a dragon," Hiccup muttered, looking down.

"But why.. why not?" Ruff asked again, cocking her head slightly.

Hiccup was quiet for a minute, still looking down at the dragon. "I... he seemed as scared as I was. I looked at him and saw myself." When he finally looked up at her, his eyes were hard. "Are you going to tell them?"

"I…" This time it was Ruff who looked down, then at Rain. All her life she had been taught that dragons were malicious, bloodthirsty beasts, whose only instinct was to kill. If you did not kill them, they would kill you.

But it was more to it than just that. There was honor in killing dragons. There was tradition. Ruff suddenly shuddered inwardly, turning away from Hiccup and Toothless. Tradition in killing these... magnificent beasts? Honor? There was no honor. They had been so wrong...

"So, can you like, ride him?" Ruff suddenly, making Hiccup jump a little. "I mean, riding on a dragon would be so awesome!"

"Uh... w-well, sort of." Hiccup gave a nervous laugh, rubbing the back of his head. "He… uh, I kinda messed up his tail when I shot him down, and so I've been working to make him a new one." He paused, staring at Ruff. "But, y-you're not going to tell them about Toothless?" he asked, his tone unsteady.

"Well, duh, then I wouldn't get to ride him, would I?" Ruff exclaimed, trying to cover up her conflicted feelings. If anyone found out what she had done, what Hiccup had done...

Toothless left Hiccup's side and walked up to Ruff, a low purr rumbling in his throat. _Thank you,_ his eyes seemed to say. Ruff's face lit up with a grin, and she scratched the dragon's neck, laughing as the purring grew louder.

"Anything for you," she told him quietly.

* * *

After almost half a year of waiting, he was with her again. After five moons waxing and waning, after traveling through three different worlds, after both being injured during a dragon raid, he was reunited with Rain.

Spirit couldn't even begin to tell her all the things that had happened to him, but concern for his herd came first.

 _Are you all right?_ he demanded, looking her over to make sure this really was his beloved Rain, that this was really happening. _How is my mother? The herd?_ Spirit knew that without a leader, the herd would be vulnerable to attacks from predators.

 _I'm fine_ , she replied. _Last I saw them, the herd is all right too. We're very lucky to have your mother as lead mare._

Spirit felt the last traces of anxiety he had been harboring melt away, and he sighed with relief. They were all right. But there was still one thing bothering him... _Rain, I'm sorry. I'm the one that created the portal that brought you here. It turns out I... I have the ability to create portals. I guess, when I came from Scotland to here, I guess I created two portals._

 _It's not your fault,_ Rain said gently.

At her forgiving words, Spirit felt himself fill with a warmth that he had not felt for a long time. He buried his muzzle in her mane, as he had dreamed of doing so many times before. And this time he felt her pressing against him, heard her nickering in his ears, and it was enough. He drank in her love and affection, wishing he could stay in this moment forever. Rain was with him, and that was more than enough.

* * *

The next day, Hiccup decided it was time to test out the tail he had perfected. A leather rope connected the tail to a foot pedal, which would shift the tail to different positions when Hiccup pressed on it.

He could hardly keep from breaking into a sprint as he made the familiar journey to the cove. Ruff had stayed behind after dragon training, telling him she would catch up to him in a few minutes, but Hiccup didn't want to wait. The day had finally arrived: the day he was going to really, truly fly with Toothless.

He met up with Rain and Spirit about halfway to the cove.

 _We thought we'd come with you. You_ were _attacked the other day,_ Spirit told him, pulling a face.

"Thanks guys," Hiccup smiled, throwing an arm around Spirit's neck. "But I don't think they're coming back anytime soon. They know that you guys are a force to be reckoned with."

Beside him, Rain gave a quiet neigh.

 _She wants to know if you have any idea who attacked you,_ Spirit translated for him.

"No idea." Hiccup shook his head as they began walking. "I don't think it was anyone in the village."

 _What I want to know is... why?_ Spirit muttered quietly.

Ruff arrived a just as Hiccup finished checking over Toothless' harness to make sure everything was in order.

"Saw Astrid on the way over," she remarked. "She looked seriously pissed." Ruff gave a quiet snicker.

"She'll feel better if she's the one who gets chosen to kill the Nightmare," Hiccup muttered. "I will too."

"Aw, quit thinking about it, and let's have some fun!" Ruff snorted, hopping on Rain. "Race you to the other side of the island!"

 _Hey, no fair!_ Spirit took off after them.

"Okay, there bud, we're going to take this nice and slow," Hiccup said, patting the Night Fury's neck. _Unlike some other people I could name…_

Hiccup pressed his foot down, and the Night Fury shot into the sky.

"Hey! What part of 'nice and slow' did you not understand'?" Hiccup yelled grabbing onto the leather handles he had attached to the saddle.

He could almost hear Toothless reply. _Really? You want the unholy offspring of lightning and death itself to 'go slow'? Just try and make me!  
_

* * *

When they arrived at the other side of the island, Ruff, Rain, and Spirit were already there. The shore was rocky, steep cliffs rising out of the ground not too far off down the shoreline.

Hiccup slid off Toothless with a groan and sat down on the rocky ground, running a hand through his blown-back hair. Ruff took one look and burst out laughing. "What happened?" she asked.

"Toothless and I were having so much fun, the darn dragon decided to shoot a fireball and nearly fly through it."

Ruff grinned, scooting a bit closer to Hiccup. "Sounds fun," she smirked. "Wow, the first Viking in three hundred years to fly on a dragon. Wish I could have been there."

"Heh, yeah," Hiccup said glancing over at Toothless. He had decided never to mention how he had fallen off Toothless which resulted in both of them nearly plummeting to their death.

"Anyway, I caught some fish while I was waiting." Ruff gestured to a small pile of fish. "I couldn't get the fire to light, though." She turned to Toothless. "Willing to help a girl out?"

The Night Fury purred a little, and shot a small flame towards the sticks Ruff had collected.

"Why thank you kind sir," Ruff said with mock elegance, patting Toothless and handing him a fish, which he gulped down eagerly.

Hiccup picked up a stick and speared a cod on it, toasting it over the fire while Toothless started on the pile of fish. He heard the cries of Terrible Terrors, and looked up to see several swooping down to the shore. Toothless growled a little, and drew the fish pile closer to his body.

"Selfish dragon," Ruff laughed.

Hiccup watched as a Terrible Terror tried to grab one of the fish. Toothless easily grabbed it back, swallowing it whole. The Night Fury seemed to chuckle as the Terror growled, drawing itself up to shoot. However, as soon as it opened it mouth, Toothless spat a small burst of flames inside its mouth. The little dragon flew into the air, then fell on its head. It staggered woozily away, its nostrils smoking, while Ruff rolled on the ground laughing.

"Not so fireproof on the inside, eh?" she grinned. "Oh I wish I could do that to Tuff sometime. He'll be annoying me and I can just _poof_ shoot fire inside his mouth."

Hiccup felt sorry for the Terror and tossed it his fish. "Here you go. Take mine," he said. The Terror eagerly devoured it, then curled up next to Hiccup and closed its eyes, purring contentedly. "Everything we know about you guys... is wrong," Hiccup said softly.


	12. Betrayal

It was twilight when Ruff and Hiccup got back. As Hiccup was about to go inside his workshop, Ruff put a hand on his arm.

"I just wanted to say, it was really nice spending time with you."

"Yeah, it was," Hiccup shrugged, but grinned.

She paused for a second, then kissed his cheek, taking Hiccup completely by surprise. She glanced away, looking embarrassed, then quickly disappeared into the twilight.

Hiccup stared after her for a second, feeling his cheeks flush. A slow grin worked its way across his face, in spite of himself, and he quickly ducked inside.

Ruffnut... was actually a rather nice girl, he thought. Though she could be odd at times, and wasn't quite as pretty as Astrid, she was a rather sweet, in her own, "ruff" way. Practically anyone else would have told his dad as soon as they saw Toothless. However, not Ruffnut, and Hiccup would always be grateful for that.

 _You can't hide him forever,_ a small voice called to him, but he pushed the thought away.

Hiccup collapsed down on a stool, and looked over all the drawings he had made in the last couple of weeks. There were drawings of Toothless, the tail, the saddle, all the mechanisms needed for the Night Fury to fly. Exhaustion weighed down on every part of his body, but his mind kept going over and over all the things that had happened. Did he really just fly on a dragon? Was he really the first Viking in three hundred years... to ride a dragon?

When Hiccup woke up the next morning, his face was stuck to a piece of parchment, and his back ached. It took him a moment to realize where he was. He must have fallen asleep at his bench after his father had left. Hiccup groaned and rose to his feet, scrubbing a hand over his face as his mind flitted over the conversation with his father last night. Stoick's entrance had caught Hiccup off his guard; he'd had to shove his drawings behind him in the hopes his father wouldn't see them.

But what his dad had said... he was proud of Hiccup. For the first time in his life, he had his father's approval. But all Stoick saw and heard were lies. True, Hiccup wasn't having half the number of screw-ups as he had before, but what his father saw was a dragon killer. And what he saw was just a trick, a sham. If Stoick saw what he truly was...

"I just don't know how much longer I can keep this up," Hiccup quietly groaned to himself, scrubbing a hand over his face.

Hiccup glanced down and touched one of the horns on his new helmet, a gift from Stoick. It had be forged from a piece of his mother's armour.

"To keep you safe in the ring," Stoick had said.

Suddenly Gobber stumped into the workshop. "There you are," Gobber called, hurrying over and grabbing Hiccup's arm. "You'll be late fer dragon trainin'! Today's the day Gothi will decide who kills the Nightmare!"

 _Oh, great,_ Hiccup thought groggily.

* * *

"No! No, no, no!" Astrid yelled as she swung her ax wildly about. Her heartbeat pounded in her ears and her face was flushed. "Son of a half-troll, rat-eating munge-bucket!"

Beside Hiccup, laying on the ground, was the Gronkle. The Gronckle she was supposed to have brought down. The Gronckle that was her ticket to killing the Nightmare, her chance at honor and fame.

Hiccup took one glance and the furious Astrid and scooted sideways. "Sooo, later. I'm, ah, kinda late for..."

"What!?" Astrid demanded, shoving her axe in his face, her sweaty bangs falling into her eyes. "Late for what, exactly?!" Her nostrils flared as she glared at him, and mild-mannered Hiccup shrank away.

"Quiet down! The elder has decided," she heard the Stoick call out. Astrid pulled away from Hiccup, but her face remained stony and her teeth were clenched.

Gothi came up to the edge of the arena to look at both of them. Gobber held his hand over Astrid. Gothi shook her head. He held his hook over Hiccup. Gothi smiled and nodded.

Astrid turned her head and shot a murderous glare at Hiccup, her hand clenching around her axe. She had worked all her life for this moment. The moment where she would be chosen to kill a dragon. All her years of training, careful planning, had been ruined! By who? By clumsy, awkward, gangly Hiccup! He had only been fighting dragons for a month! He didn't deserve this! If Astrid had never felt loathing before, she felt it now.

 _How could someone like Hiccup become so good?! There's something he's hiding,_ she thought. _Nobody... nobody! just gets this good._

* * *

"We're leaving." Hiccup announced stepped into the cove, carrying a basket.

 _Hiccup?_ Spirit cantered over, looking concerned. _Uh, what's going on?_

"Guess what?" Hiccup remarked sarcastically, dumping the basket on the ground. "I get to kill a dragon."

 _So... you're leaving... this island?_ Spirit's eyes widened slightly.

"If you have a better idea, I'm open to hearing it," Hiccup sighed, kneeling down to open the basket and checking over the bundles of food he had hastily shoved inside.

 _Which means you're leaving us... me, Rain, Ruff..._ Spirit dug his hoof into the ground, shifting his weight restlessly. He was silent for a second, then asked quietly, _What did Ruff say?_

"Nothing," Hiccup muttered, still looking down. The moment he had managed to slip away, he had grabbed some supplies and ran all the way to the cove. Ruffnut didn't even know he won. She and Tuff had spent the afternoon cleaning sheep pens after playing a prank on Mildew, an old man who was as sour as his name.

 _You're leaving,_ Spirit said again, staring at Hiccup blankly. _After everything... everything! we've been through, you're just... leaving? Just like that?_

"Look, I really wish I didn't have to do this. But if I stay, it's either kill the dragon or get shipped off the island... or worse!" Hiccup snapped, glaring at the stallion. He didn't feel at all rested from the night before, and his temples were pounding. Spirit's ears flicked back at his tone, and he looked away, blowing a short huff of breath out of his nostrils.

Hiccup sighed, and felt his body slump. "Look," he murmured, trying to soften his tone. "Maybe if I had some more time, I could figure something out. There's just no time."

Spirit snorted again, but it was softer this time. _So this is... goodbye?_

"Hey," Hiccup shrugged, "you're going to have to leave here someday too."

Rain whickered and nudged his face with her soft muzzle, blowing his hair off his forehead.

 _There's a difference between going home and running away_ , Spirit told him, but his voice was so soft Hiccup could barely hear him.

"I know," Hiccup whispered, a stone settling in his stomach. "But I can't kill that dragon. And I just can't put Toothless' life in danger by staying here any longer. I'm sorry. I really wish it didn't have to end this way."

Hiccup reached up his hand and stroked the mare's face, tracing his fingers from her cheek to her jaw, then rubbing under her mane. She blew gently at him, then moved aside for Spirit. The stallion rubbed his head against Hiccup's shoulder, touched noses with Toothless then walked out of the cove. He didn't look back.

As soon as the two horses disappeared out of the cove, Hiccup turned to Toothless.

"Let's get out of here, bud," he whispered, placing his hand on top of Toothless' head. He was about to put the basket on when Toothless growled so dangerously that Hiccup was startled. He looked up, and saw none other than Astrid at the top of the cove. She had dropped her axe on the ground and was staring at them in horror. Then she spun around and began racing back towards the village.

"Dah-dah dah; we're dead."

* * *

Of all the things she thought Hiccup was doing, Astrid never imagined he'd do something like this! He had betray them... betray them all! He was on their side! She had to tell someone, anyone!

As Astrid jumped up to scramble over a fallen log, she suddenly felt something grab her arm. A second later she was snatched into the air.

"Oh great Odin's ghost, I'm being kidnapped by a dragon!" Astrid screamed, watching the ground rapidly get farther and farther away. She clung onto the dragon's arm, her breath coming in short gasps.

Suddenly, the Night Fury released his grip. For a moment, she was falling. Then her hands reached out and she grabbed onto the limb of a pine tree.

Ground, where are you, dear ground? Astrid screamed in her mind, clinging to the thin branch and praying it was enough to hold her.

The tree suddenly dipped crazily, and Astrid felt her heart skip a beat as she almost lost her grip, her body swinging wildly. She looked up and saw the dragon had landed on the top of the pine, Hiccup perched on its back. So, he could ride the thing too.

"Hiccup! Get me down from here!" Astrid panted.

"You have to give me a chance to explain," the boy pleaded, holding up his hands.

"No! I am not listening to anything you have to say!" she screamed, beginning to edge across the branch, towards the tree's trunk. What she would do for her battleaxe right now…

"Then I won't talk. Just let me show you."

Astrid growled, but didn't really see any other choice. She slowly swung her body on top of the branch, slapping away Hiccup's offered hand. As she settled herself on the dragon's back, it snarled at her, lifting its lip slightly to show its teeth, and Astrid was tempted to do the same back at it.

"All right," Astrid snapped, letting out a shuddering breath. "Now get me down."

"Toothless, down. Gently," Hiccup told the dragon, patting its head.

That thing has a name? Astrid rolled her eyes and folded her arms.

Toothless spread his wings.

"See? Nothing to be afraid of."

"Ahhhhhh!"

The Night Fury took off so suddenly, Astrid nearly got left behind. Her hands scrabbled for something to hold onto and a second later she found herself clinging for dear life onto Hiccup. She would have been embarrassed had she not been so focused on staying on.

"He's usually not like this..." Hiccup protested as Toothless went into a steep dive.

 _I'm going to die, I'm going to die!_ Astrid screamed in her mind. A dragon spitting fire at her, she could face. A dragon trying to throw her off its back, she could not.

It seemed as though they were going to crash into the waves, but the dragon pulled up at the last second, then ducked under the waves once or twice.

"Toothless, what are you doing? We need her to like us!" she dimly heard Hiccup said.

Astrid closed her eyes and squeezed Hiccup tighter around his stomach. I'm going to puke! All I need now is for the world to start spinning.

A second later: "And now the spinning. Thank you for nothing, you useless reptile!"

"I'm sorry, okay?" Astrid finally burst out. "I'm sorry! Just- get me off this thing."

Seconds after the words had left her mouth, the spinning, whirling world stilled. As her pounding heartbeat stilled to a steady thump, Astrid slowly opened her eyes to a place like nothing she had ever seen before, a scene too breathtaking for words.

The sun cast its last rays of gold over the horizon, seeming to set the mountains on fire with red and orange flames. The clouds all around them were shaded with brilliant hues of pink. Astrid reached her hand up and felt the cool, moist air slide past her fingertips. A smile broke out across her face, and she laughed as she threw both her hands in the air, trying to touch the clouds.

Toothless soared above the cloudline, turning the sky into a navy canvas, upon which danced radiant colors of blue, green and purple. She let her gaze wander over the brilliant sky, simply enjoying the view. It took her breath away.

As the blanket of clouds faded away, revealing the lapping waves and the island of Berk rising from the sea, beneath them, Astrid felt a warmth rise up inside her.

"Alright, I admit it," she confessed, giving Hiccup a small grin. "This is pretty cool." No. It was more than that... "It's... amazing. He's amazing." She patted Toothless, and the dragon turned half-turned his head, his eyes shining.

Astrid was quiet for a minute. Her grin faded as she remembered the reason she had come.

"So what now?" she asked quietly. Hiccup didn't answer. "Hiccup, your final exam is tomorrow! You know you have to kill..." She dropped her voice. "Kill a dragon."

"Don't remind me," Hiccup muttered, looking down at the dragon's back.

Just then Toothless swooped down, and Astrid felt his whole body tense.

"Toothless, what's happening?" Hiccup asked quickly. "Wha-what is it?"

The dragon gave a half-roar, and swerved as a Nightmare appeared alongside them. A second later it disappeared into the mist that began to choke the air.

"Get down!" Hiccup hissed, and both him and Astrid ducked low over Toothless' back.

Soon the air was filled with dragons, each carrying some sort of food: sheep, pigs, fish… Their cries echoed through the air, and their wings beat steadily, stirring the clouded air.

"What's going on?" Astrid whispered, her gaze darting around to look at all the dragons.

"I don't know." Hiccup's tone was tense. "Toothless, you gotta get us out of here." The dragon ignored him, shaking his head and giving a half-snarl. Hiccup glanced at the dragons, then at the food they carried. "It looks like their hauling in their kill."

"Uh, what does that make us?" Astrid asked, her voice shaking slightly.

As one, the dragons dove, flashing past pillars of stone that rose out of the water. Astrid barely had time to glimpse a volcano of sorts, red marks streaking down the sides, before Toothless and the other dragons swooped into a long, dark tunnel, opening up to a large cavern. The whole inside of the cavern and everything in it was streaked with scarlet. Glowing red steam billowed below them from the seemingly bottomless pit. Astrid could feel the heat rolling from center of the mountain, washing over her body.

 _It's the dragons' nest..._ she thought, her eyes widening.

"What my dad wouldn't give to see this," Hiccup breathed, and Astrid had to agree.

One by one, the dragons flew over the pit, dropping in their pieces of food. Toothless streaked over it himself, then settled himself on a ledge, and slinking behind a pillar.

"Well, it's satisfying to know that all our food has been dumped down a hole," Hiccup remarked as the dragons continued to drop their food.

"They're not eating any of it," Astrid said, narrowing her eyes, which were stinging from the sweat that dripped into them. Why?

Just then, a Gronckle flew out over the pit. It wiggled, then burped up a tiny fish. It was just about to fly away when a huge head appeared out of the mist, jaws closing around the Gronckle. The dragons seemed to shudder, drawing back deeper into the shadows.

Astrid gasped, her heart skipping a beat. "What was that?"

The giant head sank down into the mist and Astrid leaned back against the rock, her heart pounding, but she could not tear her eyes away. Hiccup did likewise, his body pressing slightly against hers. The head came up again, sniffing the air.

 _It can smell us…_ Astrid thought in horror.

"Alright, bud, we gotta get out of here! Now!" Hiccup yelled, jerking forward into position. Astrid grabbed him around the waist, and Toothless jumped into the air, the huge dragon's head slammed into the place they had been a moment before.

The dragons amassed into a swirling group, choking the air around them as they all flooded out of the cavern.

* * *

"No, it totally makes sense," Astrid said as they coasted back down in the cove. "It's like... giant beehive. They're the workers, and that's their queen! It must control them, they can't resist the call, and so they can't get away." Astrid hopped off Toothless and ran a few paces ahead. "Let's go find your dad."

Hiccup climbed off the Night Fury, shaking his head furiously. "Astrid, wait!" What is she thinking?

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Spirit not too far off. The stallion raised his head to look at him, though it was too dark to make out his expression.

Astrid stopped. "Hiccup? Come on!" She gestured to him, looking like she was about to run off.

Hiccup ran up to her and attempted to grab her arm, but she jerked it away. "No, no! Not yet, they'll-they'll kill Toothless!" The words spilled out of his mouth, and he jerked his hands desperately. "Astrid, we have to think this through carefully."

Astrid looked at him as if he were insane. "Hiccup, we just discovered the dragon's nest! The thing we've been after since Vikings first sailed here! And you want to keep it a secret?" She huffed impatiently as he turned away. "To protect your pet dragon? Are you serious?"

"He's not a pet, and he's not the only one I want to protect," Hiccup said seriously, turning back to her.

Astrid glared at him for a moment, then her expression softened. "Okay, then... what do we do?"

Hiccup sighed, and glanced up at the sky, then back at Astrid. "Look, see if you can tell Ruff what happened. She already knows about Toothless. And tell her... tell her I'll figure something out. Just give me until tomorrow," he muttered quietly.

Astrid punched him in the shoulder. "That's for kidnapping me. But," her voice grew soft, "Thanks... for everything else." With that she turned and ran off into the darkness. Hiccup watched her go, and let his shoulders drop. He was relieved Astrid wasn't furious him anymore, but...

 _You'll figure it out tomorrow, huh?_

"Oh Spirit," Hiccup sighed, leaning against the stallion's shoulder and slowly slumping to the ground. "I just don't know."


	13. Defiance

Hiccup stood silently in the tunnel leading to the ring, holding his helmet. He had spent a sleepless night in the cove, pacing back and forth and wondering what to do. As the first glow of dawn had appeared, Hiccup knew this war... it had to end. Today.

"...and no one's more surprised, or proud, than I am. Today, my boy becomes a Viking. Today he becomes one of us!" Hiccup heard his father say to the assembled vikings. He glanced down, knowing he should feel happy; this was something he had been yearning for his entire life. However, all he could think about was the anxiety churning in his stomach. There were so many things that could go wrong…

Hiccup heard footsteps, and turned around to see Ruff come down the tunnel.

"Astrid told me what happened," she muttered, scuffling at the ground with her shoe. She was quiet, then suddenly grabbed his arms, her eyes locking onto his. "Just... don't let that Nightmare melt your helmet, okay?" she told him, then dropped her arms and gave him a half-hearted smile.

Hiccup didn't return the gesture, though his heartbeat quickened under her gaze. "It's not the dragon I'm worried about." _It's everyone else…_

"So, what _are_ you going to do?" Ruff asked, taking a step back and crossing her arms.

Hiccup turned away, looking past the grate into the arena, the place where many dragons had met their end. "I'm going to put an end to all this. All the suffering, all the death..." he let out a breath, and turned back to the girl. "Ruff, if something... goes wrong, just make sure they don't find Toothless. You know what'll happen. They'll kill him, perhaps Spirit and Rain too. You'll have to protect them for me."

"Just promise me nothing will go wrong," Ruff told him seriously. Hiccup had never heard her use that tone of voice before.

"I... I don't know if I can keep that promise," Hiccup whispered, half to himself.

At that moment, Gobber walked into the tunnel. "It's time, Hiccup. Knock 'em dead."

Hiccup closed his eyes for second, then placed his father's gift, a warrior's helmet, on his head, and stepped into the ring. The metal grate crashed down behind him, and for a moment, Hiccup felt hopelessly trapped. There was no going back now.

His footsteps slow, Hiccup walked over to the pile of weapons and selected a shield and small dagger, much like the one he had when he first met Toothless. He inhaled deeply and then let it out, the arena falling silent around him.

"I'm ready."

Almost as soon as the bars were lifted, the Nightmare burst out, body already ignited. It crawled along the walls, hissing and spitting. Hiccup inhaled sharply; the dragon was every bit as terrifying as its kin was on that fateful night when he had struck down Toothless. The flames on its body slowly died as it came back to the floor and slowly began advancing towards Hiccup.

The young Viking returned the Nightmare's unblinking gaze and dropped first his dagger, then his shield. The villagers began murmuring, but Hiccup ignored them, and held out his hands, letting the dragon take in his scent.

"Hey," Hiccup said softly, the same tone of voice he had used when he found a frightening, angry stallion injured in the forest. "It's okay." He grasped the horns of his helmet then threw it aside, his voice deepening to a growl. " _I'm not one of them._ "

The Nightmare glanced at it, then looked back at him, pupils widening.

 _Yes,_ Hiccup thought, hardly daring to hope. _It's working._

Then came his father's voice, breaking through the silence. "Stop the fight." His voice was low and dangerous. "Stop the fight."

Hiccup didn't tear his gaze from the dragon's eyes, not even daring to blink. "No! I need you all to see this."

He held out his hand, preparing to touch the dragon's face. This was the moment, the moment everyone would see... "They're not what we think they are. We don't have to kill them." _They're all just as scared as we are, deep down inside._

"I said _stop the fight_!" Stoick brought his hammer crashing down on one of the bars of the ring, the sheer force causing the metal to bow.

This whole time Hiccup could see the Nightmare's temper tilting back and forth on a pair of unsteady scales. Stoick's outburst was enough to bring it all crashing down. Hiccup snatched his hand back as the Nightmare snapped its jaws shut like a trap. Hiccup barely had time to bolt out of the way before the dragon opened it's mouth to let out a stream of flames. His boots skidded across the rocky ground as the dragon crawled after him, spitting out spurts of flame.

 _Shot limit, shot limit, does this thing have a shot limit?!_ Hiccup thought wildly.

"This way!" Stoick yelled.

Hiccup whipped his head around and saw Stoick holding the gate up. He was no longer trapped. There was a way out! Hiccup launched himself towards it in one last desperate attempt, but just then the Nightmare pounced like a cat on a mouse. It curved its claws around his body, licking its lips. It opened it's mouth, gas building up in the back of its throat. There was nothing Hiccup could do to stop it.

Spirit's mind was filled with one thought, and one thought alone: get to Hiccup, before it's too late. In their wild race, Rain had fallen behind, but there was no time to wait for her. Hiccup was in danger, and he had to get to Hiccup, before it was too late.

He barely noticed Toothless and him were rushing through a crowd of Vikings; he ignored their yells and gasps.

Toothless blasted through the metal bars, filling the arena with smoke. Spirit dove in right after him. The Night Fury threw himself on the larger dragon, the two snarling and clawing. Rearing and screaming, Spirit gave a few kicks, then jumped in front of Hiccup. His ears pinned flat against his head, he reared again, daring anyone to try and hurt the boy. Toothless threw off the other dragon and also jumped in front of Hiccup, lunging at the Nightmare each time it tried to get closer. Spirit slammed his front hooves on the ground, letting out a loud neigh. At last the Nightmare snarled, and slunk to the other side of the arena.

"All right, guys, get out of here!" Hiccup said, pushing on Toothless' muzzle. "Get out of here! Go!"

 _No! I won't leave you!_ Spirit neighed, pawing the ground furiously.

Vikings began pouring in, but the mustang welcomed them. In his mind, he was taken back to his short time in the Calvary, where he had thrown every man who dared to climb upon his back. A sort of blind rage filled him; the stallion was bucking, rearing, kicking, squealing. Over the roaring in his ears, he faintly heard Hiccup yelling at them both to stop, but he had gone too far to stop now. He saw Toothless land on one of the Vikings, opening up his mouth as his throat filled with gas, ready to-

" _NO!"_ The word crashed through the mustang's ears.

Both horse and dragon froze. Spirit was trembling, the adrenalin still rushing through his body. Toothless turned to look at Hiccup with questioning eyes, and gave a soft moan.

A second later Spirit felt his body slammed into the cold, stone floor. He struggled, letting out high-pitched squeals, but it was no use. He couldn't move. The mustang took a look around, and saw that Toothless was in much the same position as him. Ruffnut was standing a little inside the ring, looking horrified. A boy who looked like he was her brother came up, and seemed to say something to her. Hiccup was being restrained by Astrid, looking desperate to do something, _anything_ to help them.

"No, please! Please, don't hurt them!" Hiccup yelled, his voice cracking.

The Viking Spirit now recognized as Stoick, looked at Toothless with contempt. "Put it with the others." He turned to Spirit, who gave a short snort, glaring. "That one too."

His words suddenly sent a chill through Spirit.

 _What will become of us?_

* * *

 _I should have known. I should have seen the signs._

 _I screwed up, I'm sorry, I just... Take this out on_ me _, be mad at_ me _, just_ please _, don't hurt them!_

 _Those dragons have killed hundreds of us!_

 _And we've killed thousands of them! There's something else on their island..._

 _What? How did you find it?_

 _I-I didn't... Toothless did. Only... a dragon can find the island. Oh... oh no, no, no. No, Dad. No,_ please _, it's not what you think. You don't know what you're up against. It's like nothing you've ever seen! Dad, please. I promise you, you can't win this one._

No reply.

 _For once in my_ life _, would you please_ just listen to me _?!_

The man's only response was to shake him off, pushing Hiccup to the floor.

But then he stopped. He spoke.

 _You've thrown your lot in with them. You're not a Viking._

Stoick's voice was cracking, fractured, splintering.

 _You're not my son._

The Viking chief turned and slammed the door behind him.

Hiccup felt breath driven from his body as the words fell, shattering, shattering him. Tears pricked his eyes as he struggled to breathe, struggled to comprehend what had just happened. A slow numbness penetrated his body, ice seeming to crust over him from the inside out. He couldn't move. He was broken.

* * *

Spirit drew back his lips and bared his teeth as the black haired man gazed at him contemptuously. Spirit was pretty sure the man was one of the Vikings he had kicked. He had been tied head and hoof: hobbled and chained to a bar in the kill ring.

"Too dangerous to let go, too useless to keep," the man muttered, his eyes sweeping over the stallion. "What to do with you?"

Suddenly another Viking dashed into the ring. "Spitelout!" he gasped. "Stoick's found a way to find the nest! The Night Fury will show us the way! The chief says to load him up on one of the boats."

"Take this one too, while you're it," Spitelout told the man, pointing at Spirit.

"What?"

"I said 'Take that one too'," Spitelout repeated, not taking his gaze from Spirit's eyes. Spirit narrowed his eyes and huffed at him, sucking in breath through his nostrils and blowing it out sharply. His ears pinned back.

"But Spitelout-"

"They'll keep each other quiet, easier to handle."

"Er... won't they do just the opposite?" the man asked, then shrank back slightly as Spitelout glared at him. "Won't Stoick be angry?"

"The Chief will be glad to see the last of this stallion." Spitelout gave Spirit a rough pat, then snatched his hand back as Spirit snapped at it.

"With any luck, the dragon and its little friend here won't be coming back."

* * *

After what seemed like hours later, Hiccup still felt the same way. Numb. Empty. He had lost everything. Ruff had tried talking to him, but he didn't say anything.

Everything he once had... was gone, lost in a moment, a single breath. He had lost everything: his father, his tribe, his two closest friends... Hiccup walked away from the pier slowly, eyes downcast, arms hanging limply at his side.

 _What do I do now?_

As thought wandered through his mind, something heavy slammed into the back of his head. He didn't even have time to realize what just happened. Lights exploded in front of him, then everything faded into darkness.


	14. Hanging in the Balance

"Hiccup got _kidnapped_?" Ruff squeaked, after Rain had galloped up to tell the girl what she had seen.

 _By the time I realized what was happening, they had already taken him. I was too late. Again..._ Rain groaned, gritting her teeth.

"It's not your fault. We just need to come up with a plan," Ruff muttered nervously, beginning to pace back and forth in front of her house. "But how? The ships are all gone, so we have no way of following them!"

Rain was quiet for a moment, thoughtful. _Why not use the dragons?_ she mused.

Ruffnut stopped and stared at her. "Rain! You're brilliant!"

Without wasting another moment, she raced off to find the others, Rain trotting after her. Finally, things were starting to look up.

"So... are you with me or not?" Ruff asked the assembled teens, gathered in the kill ring.

"If you're planning on getting eaten, I'd definitely go with the Gronckle," Fishlegs said, and Ruff let out a breath she didn't know she had been holding, and grinned. Beside her, Rain did the same.

"You were wise to seek help from the worlds most dangerous weapon," Tuff said, coming up in front of her. He paused for a second then said, "It's me."

Ruffnut groaned and shoved him aside. "Rain, _please_ kick him in the face for me."

"I love this plan. It's gunna be totally epic!" Snotlout exclaimed.

"So, where do we start?" Astrid asked.

"Um... well... let me show you." Ruff took a breath, remembering all the things Hiccup had told her about earning a dragon's trust. _Make eye contact. Never carry a weapon. Be gentle, speak softly. Hold your hand out, but let the dragon complete the contact. Once the dragon allows you to touch its face, you've earned it's trust._

She pressed down on the bar and released the Nightmare, who looked much calmer than it had been earlier. She began slowly walking towards it while holding her hand out, like she had seen Hiccup do earlier. When she reached Snotlout, she took his hand and began guiding it to the dragon's face. He resisted, looking nervous.

"Wait! What are you-?"

"Shush. Just... relax," Ruff muttered, concentrating on keeping herself calm. "It's okay," she said, both to the dragon, and herself. "It's okay."

She placed Snotlout's hand on the Nightmare, then stepped away and grinned as the dragon let out a gutteral purr. That done, she quickly released the Nadder, Gronckle and Zippleback. Astrid took the Nadder, Fishlegs, the Gronckle. Ruff and her brother decided on the Zippleback. Then they all grabbed ropes, tying them around the dragons' bellies or necks to hold on to. Soon, all four dragons took to the skies.

Rain looked on, eyes downcast, until the Nightmare snatched her up in his claws, the huge talons curving around her stomach. She squealed and kicked, rolling her eyes up to look the enormous dragon.

"What? You didn't think we'd leave you behind, did you?" Ruff told her with a wide grin.

Rain simply glowered. _This is NOT what I had in mind!  
_

* * *

When Hiccup woke up, he wished he hadn't. It felt like someone was banging mercilessly against his skull. His stomach twisted with nausea, as the ground beneath him tipped and rolled.

Hiccup tried to put a hand to his forehead, but found he couldn't. He cracked open his eyelids, squinting at the light that filtered through the fog and found he was lying in a small boat. His hands were tied with rope.

"Oh great, I'm being... kidnapped. As if my life couldn't get any worse," Hiccup muttered quietly to himself. But why Odin's name was he being _kidnapped?_

Lifting his eyes wearily, Hiccup saw a two figures, both wearing dark-colored cloaks, sitting near the back of the boat. Looking at them, Hiccup suddenly remembered the day he had almost been killed in the forest by a person in a dark cloak. A tremor ran through his body.

He slowly and carefully sat up, leaning against the side of the boat. At this movement, the young man turned around.

"Ah. You're up. Just in time," he told Hiccup. "We've almost reached the nest."

Hiccup simply stared. "Who _are_ you?" he asked warily.

"My name's Elrik. Used to be a Viking, like you. Don't you remember me? I used to live on Berk."

Hiccup slowly shook his head. "Why did you kidnap me?"

Almost as soon as the words left his mouth, the girl swung around, her lip curling. "Because of your father."

Her words were like a knife, slicing through the air, and Hiccup swallowed, hard. _He's not my father anymore._

Elrik cleared his throat, glancing down, then back at Hiccup. "Were you ever told how there was a sickness, a plague, around the time you were born?"

"Yeah," Hiccup said quietly, blinking. "It killed my mother."

"Killed our parents too," Elrik murmered, staring out through the mist. "It took so many lives. It even took away Kari's sight." He stood up, craning his neck, then turned to Kari. "They're turning left."

Kari nodded shortly and pulled the tiller.

Elrik plunked back on the floor, making the boat rock slightly. "Anyway, after it finally died out, the people who had survived were devastated. They needed something, someone to lay the blame on. Unfortunately, it turned out to be Kari and I." He twisted his hands together. "They said her blindness was a sign that... somehow... _she_ was the one who had brought the illness upon them. The worst thing was, Stoick was fully aware of this, and he didn't do anything. He could have stopped them easily, but he didn't. Eventually we couldn't take it anymore and ran off together."

As Elrik talked, Hiccup began to recall faint memories of a brother and his blind sister. A picture flashed in his mind: a woman shouting a young boy who looked much like Elrik, the boy flinching at every word.

"I'm sorry," Hiccup whispered slowly. He couldn't think of anything to else to say. "I... w-what are you going to do with me?"

The girl ignored him, but Elrik, after a moment's hesitation, pulled out a scrap of parchment and scratched a message on it.

 _Don't worry. I won't let her hurt you._

He looked at Hiccup and grimaced, scratching on the parchment again. _Not anymore than she has, I mean._

Elrik lightly touched Hiccup's forehead with the back of his hand. "Sorry about that," he whispered, wincing, then stood back up.

Hiccup simply nodded. _Gee, thanks for planning to save me from your insane sister._

He leaned back against the side of the boat, closing his eyes. He could feel the mist slide past his skin, wetting his clothes. The rope scraped roughly against his wrists, chafing. His limbs were heavy, though the pounding in his head lessened to a dull ache. It was almost silent, and that silence was broken only by the splashing of water against wood. It felt like he was in a dream, like reality had left him, and in all the world there was only him and the boat, and the splashing waves. For a moment, he rested, too exhausted to care what happened next.

Then something grabbed his arm, and, in an instant, he was swept upwards. Hiccup's eyes snapped open to see the teens riding on... _dragons?_ He had been grabbed by the foot of a Gronckle, upon which perched Fishlegs. Astrid was on a Nadder, Snotlout on the Nightmare, Ruff and Tuff on a Zippleback. Rain was dangling from the grip of the Nightmare, a murderous expression on her face.

"A-a-are you guys...?" Hiccup asked, blinking rapidly, not even able to finish his sentence.

Fishlegs grabbed his other arm, pulling him onto the Gronckle. "We're riding on dragons!"

* * *

Spirit felt every bone, muscle, and nerve in his body screaming at him to get away. His body was slick with sweat, and he pawed again and again at the wooden floor. The ships halted at a dark and gloomy island, an enormous mountain rising out of the rocky ground. The Vikings leaped out of their ships, grabbing axes, swords and hammers. With astonishing speed, they set up a catapult and sent a flaming ball crashing through the side of the mountain.

His ears flicking wildly to pick up every bit of information, Spirit kicked and pulled, but the chains held fast. Next to him, Toothless whimpered and shrank back as a horde of dragons poured out from the mountain. Spirit jerked, and redoubled his efforts as he realized that the scene looked exactly like what he had seen the night of the storm, the night he realized his power. The queen of the dragons was coming. Death was coming.

Panic rose up in him, threatening to overwhelm him. He neighed loudly, straining with all his might. The chains scraped against his legs, creating small cuts, but he barely noticed. All thoughts in his mind were slowly merging into one word: _run_.

Just then a resounding bellow came blasting out from deep within the mountain. A gigantic head erupted from the side of the mountain, sending a down a shower of rocks and gravel. Out stepped the enormous dragon.

It was very angry.

 _This is bad,_ Spirit thought. _This is very,_ very _bad_.


	15. Past the Breaking Point

As each wingflap drew him closer to the battlefield, Hiccup began wracking his mind for a plan. First, of course, he would have to free Toothless and Spirit. The teens could cover for him. Then... then he would take the battle skyward, away from the Vikings. And then... well, hopefully he figured something out by then. Maybe he could shoot holes in the monster's wings.

 _Are you really going to do this?_ a voice inside him asked. _After all these people have done to you, you're still going to save them?_

But it wasn't just the Vikings, he realized. He was doing this to save the dragons too, to free them from their slavery to the queen. He was doing it to bring the two enemies together, so they too could perhaps experience the incredible bond he had forged with Toothless.

 _However this ends, it ends today._

"All right," Hiccup shouted over the roars of the gigantic dragon: the "Red Death" as he had decided to call it, "we need get it's attention off the other Vikings. I need-"

"Already on it!" Snotlout shouted, and the Nightmare let out a blast of fire, striking the Red Death behind the head.

 _He actually listened to me,_ Hiccup thought. _That's a first._

A collective gasp rose from the Vikings as the teens and their dragons (and Rain) soared around the Red Death's head.

"Fishlegs, break it down."

"Heavily armoured skull and tail, made for bashing and crushing. Steer clear of both!" Fishlegs instructed, his eyes sweeping over the enormous dragon. "Small eyes, large nostrils; relies on hearing and smell."

"Okay, Fishlegs and Astrid!" Hiccup yelled. "Hang in its blind spot, make some noise. Keep it confused. Ruff, Tuff, find out if it has a shot limit. Make it mad."

"That's my specialty," Ruff grinned.

"Since when? Everyone knows _I'm_ more annoying. See?"

"Just do what I told you. I'll be back as soon as I can!"

As Snotlout steered the Nightmare toward the burning ships, Hiccup heard the familiar roar of Toothless.

"There! That one!"

As soon as they were close enough, Hiccup swung his leg over and jumped onto the flaming deck. Rain, too, jumped from the dragon's claws and landed with surprising grace.

"Go help the others!" Hiccup yelled to Snotlout over the hissing, crackling flames.

Snotlout nodded and the Nightmare swept them upwards. "Be careful cousin," he called, as they took off towards the Red Death.

Rain had already begin kicking at the wood that Spirit was chained to, the hard beams splintering under her steady blows.

 _Where have you been?_ Spirit asked, as Hiccup set to work undoing the chains, fingers working furiously. Flames licked at the boat and curled around them, heat washing over Hiccup's body.

"Long story," Hiccup replied, beginning to cough. "Now, hold still!"

Spirit lowered his head to let the heavy collar slide off, and the he was free. The two horses began kicking at the chains that bound Toothless, but the air was nearly choking by now. The Viking pulled the muzzle off the dragon's face, but just something smashed down into the boat, cracking it in two. For a moment Hiccup was flying through the air; the next, he had plunged underwater.

But Toothless was still trapped. As the dragon sank to the sandy bottom, Hiccup swam down after him. The teen pulled with all his strength at the chains, willing them to somehow break. But they held fast.

Hiccup could feel his chest heaving for air... but he couldn't leave Toothless. He couldn't abandon his friend to die here. Bright flashes of color began streaking in front of his eyes, the edges of his vision darkening.

Just before the darkness consumed him, Hiccup felt something grab him by the collar, dragging him back up. Hiccup crumpled onto the shore, coughing and sucking in air. Still gasping for breath, Hiccup raised his head wearily to see who had rescued him. For a second Hiccup forgot to breathe.

"Dad?" he gasped.

Stoick's only reply was to dive back into the water.

Hiccup could only stare, only guess what was going on in the depths of the water. After what seemed like an eternity later, Toothless burst out of the water, carrying Stoick with him. Toothless set him down, then landed on the rock, shaking the water off like a dog. Hiccup felt a wry grin spread across his face, as the dragon turned to him, then jerked his head at the Red Death, giving an impatient growl.

 _Come on, let's go!_ he seemed to say.

"You got it, bud." Hiccup leaped onto Toothless, and settled himself in the saddle.

"Hiccup!"

Hiccup felt a hand on his arm, and turned.

"I'm sorry," his father told him, his voice heavy, his eyes sincere. "For... everything."

"Yeah. Me too." Hiccup's limbs suddenly felt heavy again. Maybe if he had been able to tell his dad before...

"You don't have to go up there."

"We're Vikings. It's an occupational hazard." Hiccup gave a half-smile as he repeated one of Stoick's most common phrases.

Stoick looked into Hiccup's eyes, grabbing his hand. "I am proud to call you my son."

For a second the battle around them seemed to disappear, leaving only the massive Viking chief and small, skinny dragon trainer. A warmth erupted in boy's chest and spread throughout his whole body at those words There were so many unspoken words in Stoick's eyes. There had been so much hurt between the two, but now... healing seemed possible.

"Thanks, Dad."

* * *

As she heard the sound of heavy wing flaps die away, Kari loosened her grip on the stone, letting it fall with a thud. She pressed against the rock, breathing hard. Stoick... was he really capable of repentance?

"Kari?"

The girl jerked at the voice, scrabbling for her knife. It wasn't there.

"Elrik, I swear I am _going to kill you!_ " she hissed, then swung around in the direction it had come from. "Don't you _dare_ come near me," Kari spat, her entire body quivering.

"You came back." The words came slowly.

"You act surprised, _Uncle_ ," she snapped.

"Kari, I'm sorry for what happened."

"It was your duty to take care of us! You could have protected us! You did _nothing to stop them!_ " Kari screamed at him, years of bottled up fury finally pouring out. "And you think ' _I'm sorry_ ' is going to fix that?"

"Listen to me!" Stoick almost seemed to be pleading now. "I was lost in grief over what happened to my wife. I could think of nothing else. I was selfish, I see that now. For years, I have looked back and _regretted_ what I did."

Kari simply stared into nothingness, her breathing short and ragged. She had lost her sight so long ago she barely remembered what it was like to see. She could not even imagine what Stoick's face looked like. But... there was no mistaking the regret in the man's voice.

"You... really mean that?" she asked, her voice growing softer.

For a moment, silence.

Then...

"You can come back you know."

Kari took a step back, feeling her mouth drop open as her hand groped behind her for something to grab onto. "W-what?" she gasped. "Y-you would let us come back after what we tried to do… no... what _I_ tried to do?"

"Kari," her uncle's voice was heavy. "In these last minutes I have learned much. I have learned that I have been wrong, _so wrong_ about so many things. I want to make up for the damage I have caused."

"I... can start over?" Kari's voice was quiet and small, like a timid child's.

"Yes. And this time you _will be protected_. I swear on it."

Kari sank to her knees and closed her eyes, letting the tears pool beneath her closed lids. "Thank you."

* * *

Spirit scrambled up onto the bank, coughing and spitting out water. _Hiccup?_ he called. _Toothless? Rain! You okay?_

 _I'm fine, Spirit._

The mare stepped up beside him, her eyes wide and searching as she took in the scene around her: the monstrous dragon, the burning ships, and the Vikings scrambling to get away.

 _Where are those two?_ Spirit asked, beginning to prance in place.

 _There!_ Rain jerked with her nose.

Spirit swung his head around to watch as the pair took off towards the sky, soaring upwards. Contrasting sharply with the light grey sky, a small black smudge wheeled and dived. The smaller dragon opened its mouth and spat out a blast, slamming the monster in the side.

Spirit watched, unable to tear his eyes away, as the Queen slowly unfolded dusty wings, the taut skin that stretched between the bones worn and ragged around the edges. It gave one sweep and was up in the air, lumbering after Hiccup and Toothless, who were streaking around the mountain to the other side of island.

 _Come on!_ Spirit whinnied to Rain, then broke into a gallop, following the dragons. He began running up the slope of the volcano, hooves slipping on the loose rock.

"All right, boy. Time to disappear."

Hiccup narrowed his eyes and pushed down on the foot petal, the Night Fury vanishing into the thick clouds. While rescuing Toothless and Spirit, Hiccup had almost forgotten about his aching head, but now it returned, fiercer than ever. Things were beginning to blur before his eyes, and couldn't... concentrate... A roar from Toothless brought him back.

"Sorry, bud," Hiccup whispered hoarsely. He shook his head, but it only made him dizzy. "I know. Really bad time to be zoning out."

He looked back again and saw the Red Death open its mouth. "Here it comes!" Toothless swerved out of the way as the blaze of fire shot past them. The heat made him tremble, and he felt sick to his stomach. He blinked furiously, but his vision refused to clear.

Suddenly a roar blasted through Hiccup's too-sensitive ears, making him scream in pain. Somehow he lost his grip, his foot slipped out of the foot pedal. Toothless screeched and snapped open his wings, but without the control of his tail, it did little to slow their plunging descent. The ground was rushing up towards them, and the Red Death was behind them, mouth open, ready to fire.

Spirit jerked to a halt, his breathing becoming more rapid. _Hiccup..._

Rain ran up behind him. _What? What is it?_

 _Look,_ Spirit's voice was shaking, his stomach twisting. He could hardly bear to watch the dragon and boy as they fell, but, at the same time, he could not tear his eyes away.

 _Oh... oh no._

Spirit flicked his gaze to the giant dragon following them close behind, and, suddenly, something clicked.

He knew what he had to do.

 _It's close enough to the mountain. I can jump on._

 _Spirit..._

No time for goodbyes. Spirit turned to his beloved mare, and pressed his muzzle into her mane one last time. _I love you._

Then he turned and ran. As his hooves pounded against the mountainside, climbing higher and higher, his old fears began screaming at him again and again, their voices rising to match the roars of the dragons, the thunder of hooves.

 _You don't belong here. It's all a mistake. You don't belong here. It's all a mistake. You-_

 _SHUT UP!_ Spirit screamed.

And then he jumped, his back hooves pushing against the side of the mountain with all his strength. For what seemed like hours he was soaring through the air. Then his hooves touched the monster's neck, and somehow he managed to scramble on. Spirit jumped forward and drove his hooves down under its head plate. The dragon roared in agony, sweeping its head around to see what caused its pain.

The distraction must have been all that Hiccup needed. Spirit saw the young Viking pull himself back onto Toothless, his foot clicking into the foot pedal.

Then the enormous dragon's body tilted up violently, and Spirit slid back, his heart jumping into his throat. He scrabbled furiously with his front hooves and managed to hook his leg around one of the spines.

After a few moments, the dragon leveled off, and Spirit was up again, leaping forward to slam his hooves under the head plate again and again. From somewhere among the clouds came a fireball, ripping a hole through the wing. The dragon roared, shaking his head, and Spirit was thrown back, his legs smashing into the spines. The stallion gasped, sweat dripping down his body.

The flash came again, ripping a hole in the other wing.

In response, the monstrous dragon opened it's jaws and let out a stream of fire, pouring out its mouth and melting the clouds. Spirit ducked, letting out a scream, as the heat seared across his skin. For a moment he was surrounded by roaring dragons and shouting Vikings: taken back to the night of the dragons' raid. Then he was back, back on the monstrous dragon's head. And Hiccup needed him.

But Spirit had no strength left to give. He could only lay there, clinging onto the dragon's spine with shaking legs, watching through bleary, smoke-filled eyes.

He had come all this way, all the way to the top of a dragon the size of a volcano; come to a place from which there was little hope of escape, and it was worth it. If Hiccup lived, it was all worth it.

Suddenly, Spirit felt the dragon tipping again, but it was sloping downwards this time. Spirit raised his head and saw water. They were headed towards the water.

This was it. This was his chance. His chance to make it out alive. Spirit scrambled up, closed his eyes...

And jumped.

* * *

"Pull Toothless," Hiccup whispered. "NOW!"

The Night Fury flipped over on his back as the Red Death cracked its jaws open, gas building inside its mouth. Toothless shot one last plasma blast, this one down the Red Death's throat. The enormous dragon roared in pure agony, fire dribbling out of the corners of its mouth. As it crashed down, it opened its wings, but the holes Toothless had created widened, turning the wings to ash.

Toothless pulled out of his dive, streaking out of the way. Hiccup turned his head just in time to see the blurry form of the Red Death crash head-first into the ground, exploding on impact. Toothless pumped his wings furiously, weaving in and out of the dragon's back spines.

Hiccup weakly pushed down on the pedal again and again but it was no use. The artificial tail had disintegrated completely to the flames. There was no way to avoid the creature's giant tail, lying directly in their path.

"No..." Hiccup whispered. They had come so far, they couldn't fail now. His eyelids flickered. His grip on the saddle weakened.

He never felt the impact. Toothless seemed to fade away beneath him; the Red Death disappeared, swallowed up by darkness.

Instead he saw his mother. He was a little boy again, and she was singing to him softly, a sweet song with pleasant melodies, as she tucked him into bed.

"Goodnight, my little son," she whispered with a smile, and ruffled his hair. "Remember, no matter what happens, I will always love you."

Hiccup yawned contentedly, and snuggled under his blanket, feeling the pleasant warmth surround him. His mother blew out the candle, and all was still.

* * *

Spirit broke the surface of the water, choking and gasping. The explosion had sent him spinning around in the water, until his lungs screamed for air. He stumbled out of the water, but his legs gave way, and he crashed to the ground, gritting his teeth.

The air was filled with ash and smoke, causing Spirit to wheeze. He felt like he could barely move, but he needed to see what happened to Hiccup. He needed to see if the boy and his dragon were all right.

 _H-Hiccup? T-T-Toothless?_

A faint call of "Hiccup?" echoed through the grey air, but the stallion's ears were ringing, his mind sluggish. The stallion heaved himself upright, and limped forward, pain shooting through his front legs.

It felt like hours before a dark shape materialized in front of him. Toothless. The dragon was lying on the ground, battered and bruised, but still breathing, still alive. However, the burned saddle was empty, the tail charred. It took a minute for his numb mind to realize what had happened.

 _No... not again._

The stallion barely registered the pain that shot through his knees as they hit the rocky ground, his breath quickening. Everything seemed to fade away, everything but himself and the Night Fury. He could not believe it. He would not believe it. Hiccup could not have left them. Spirit closed his eyes and let out a small moan.

The voices. The taunting, accusing voices that dripped with scorn had come back. _You don't belong here. It's all a mistake._ Then came a new voice, this one with a lash of guilt. _It's your fault. You couldn't save him._

 _No,_ Spirit cried out again, but his protests were weak, his voice, broken. He looked down and brushed his muzzle across the dragon's scaled head. _I'm sorry. I'm sorry… I couldn't save you_. He spoke to those who had been ripped away, Greybar, Rain, and now... Hiccup. Tears spilled out of Spirit's eyes, and dripped onto the ground. He felt hollow inside. There was nothing he could do now.

Spirit opened his eyes to see Toothless staring at him. The stallion looked away, shivering, though his body was numb.

 _You saved us. You saved both of us._

Spirit jerked his head up, locking eyes with the dragon, the latter's seeming to almost glow in the ash-choked air. The dragon looked down as he lifted a wing to reveal Hiccup.

The stallion slowly and shakily rose to his feet, and brought his muzzle to the boy's face. A second later he felt the warm breath flutter into his nostrils. Hiccup was alive.

Spirit blew gently back and nuzzled the boy's hair, but his vision was swimming. He stumbled backwards and let the darkness cover him, like a blanket.


	16. Home

He did not know where he was, but that did not matter. He sensed that it was a place of refuge, a haven for the wounded. There was the sound of pattering above him. There was a cool breeze sweeping over him. There was something soft brushing against his coat beneath him.

Spirit lay still, taking in the quiet sounds of the trickling rain. His entire body ached. It was bruised, burned, cut, and sore, and wasn't about to forgive him for…

 _It's all right Spirit. You're safe now._

The gentle voice was like cool water, and Spirit felt a soft muzzle against his face.

 _Oh. Hi, Rain. It's raining,_ Spirit muttered sleepily. He blinked and lifted his head slightly to see the paint mare kneeling next to him. He was under a shed of sorts, lying on a pile of straw. Letting out another soft moan, he laid his pounding head on her shoulder and felt her warm breath cover his face, closing his eyes. _How long was I out?_

 _Almost a day. Our healer, Gothi, took care of your burns and other injures._

 _'S Hiccup alright?_ Spirit slurred, cracking an eye open. He saw Ruff curled up on a pile of furs. As if she knew she was being watched, the girl darted awake, bolting upright.

"Why didn't you tell me Spirit was awake?" Ruff demanded, but barely finished her sentence before giving a jaw-cracking yawn, rubbing her eyes.

 _Why do you think?_ Rain snorted.

Ruff leaned against the wooden wall. "I thought you were dead," she said quietly. "I thought all three of you were dead! Don't do that to me, okay!?" Ruff exclaimed and grabbed a braid of dirty blond hair.

Spirit simply snorted. _What happened?_

"I mean, after the Red Death crashed into the ground, there was a humongous explosion. We couldn't find you guys for what seemed like forever," Ruff explained, and began unbraiding her hair, which was full of knots. "After we found out you all were alive, the next question was how to get home. Toothless was in no condition to fly, and you and Hiccup were still out cold. Then Kari and Elrik told us about the boat they had used, which was on the other side of the island and still undamaged. Stoick and me got you to wake up enough to get on the boat, but you probably don't remember that."

 _Kari and Elrik?_ With some effort, Spirit rolled onto his stomach and sniffed at the bandages on his legs. And... Stoick? The man who had imprisoned both him and Toothless?

"Long story, those two," Ruff said when Rain translated for her. Then she grinned. "Guess how the other Vikings got home?"

 _Swam like fish,_ Spirit muttered.

"Rode the dragons." Ruff snorted with laughter. "I was pretty sure half, nah, everyone was going to fall off at one point or another."

 _But how's Hiccup? And Toothless?_

Ruff sobered, working her fingers through the knots. "Toothless is fine. He's like you, just scraped up. Hiccup... I don't know. He had a... complication."

* * *

The sun peeked over the horizon, then seemed to yawn and stretch, casting out brilliant beams of pink and gold. The rays pierced through the mist rising from the ground, thawing the frozen blades of grass.

The few birds that remained had not even begun their song, when the lone horse and rider came sweeping through the forest. The stallion's hooves thudded across the frozen ground rhythmically, his pitch black mane tossing in the wind. The sun touched his golden coat, turning it to flame.

Sitting atop the stallion was a boy. His face still bore the faint scars from the flames he had endured, but his eyes were wide open and alight.

"Come on, boy," he whispered, grinning, to the stallion as they galloped towards a fallen log. "C'mon."

The stallion flicked his ears back, the faintest of smirks appearing on his face. He leaped into the air like a rabbit, clearing the log with feet to spare.

"Woah!" Hiccup yelled, tumbling off the stallion's back, and landing with a _thud_ on his shoulder. "Hey! What was that for?"

 _Oh come on,_ Spirit snickered, turning around and giving a little prance. _It's my last day. I couldn't leave without dumping you off at least_ once.

"At least once?" Hiccup spluttered, sitting up and rubbing his shoulder. "Okay, that's the last time I'm riding _you._ "

 _Suit yourself._

Hiccup snorted, and heaved himself up, steadying himself by placing a hand on Spirit's shoulder.

 _How's your leg doing?_ Spirit asked, his tone growing serious.

"Better, I guess," Hiccup muttered, purposefully not glancing down at where his leg ended and his metal foot began. "I'm still getting used to it. And.. sometimes I get these weird pains where my foot used to be... even though it's gone."

Spirit nodded. _I still can't even imagine... well, at least you can still ride Toothless. You sure you don't want a ride back?_

"Uh... no thanks. One fall is enough for today. Besides, I should practice getting used to walking with this thing more."

* * *

It was time. Time for him to leave this world and return to the one where he belonged. Although his heart leaped at the thought of returning home, there was a drop of sadness, a hesitation in his prancing steps.

The stars twinkled above, and the full moon shone brilliantly in the night sky, chasing away the darkness. Most of the Vikings had settled down for the night, and the plaza was deserted. Almost. Five figures were huddled in the very center of the village, the two horses stamping their feet, and the two humans blowing on their fingers to ward off the chill that filled the air.

 _I'm going to miss this place so much,_ Spirit thought, watching his breath appear before him; a wispy puff in the frozen air. He glanced at Hiccup and Toothless, at Rain and Ruff.

 _Look at us,_ Spirit whispered. _Three completely different species; two whose ancestors have been at war for centuries, one from another world. And yet..._ he broke off.

Hiccup grinned, then stepped forward and wrapped his arms around the stallion's neck. Toothless gently pressed his body against both of them and let out short, guttural purrs. A second later, Ruff and Rain joined in. Spirit stood perfectly still, simply drinking it all in. He did not know how much time passed before they finally broke apart.

"Good-bye."

 _'Bye._

Ruff, Hiccup and Toothless stepped away, and Rain moved close to Spirit. The stallion closed his eyes once more, imagining a pit of green light opening under his hooves.

Nothing.

He tried again, clenching his teeth, and concentrating on the image with all his might. _It's not working!_ Spirit snapped, opening his eyes.

"Relax," he heard Hiccup say softly. "Think of your home."

Spirit sighed, and closed his eyes again.

 _One more time,_ he thought. _Once more, that's all I need._

A gentle wind brushed past him, sweeping his tail around his leg, the one which still bore the scars Hiccup had given him.

The stallion was quiet for a moment. Then he imagined himself back in his homeland. Fall, and a great storm shook the plains; he was struck by lighting. Winter, and he fell through a portal and watched as Greybar was struck by a car. Spring, and he fled for his life from a daemon bear. Summer, and he found himself in the midst of a dragon raid. Fall again, and he jumped on the dragon's back to save the boy he loved.

Spirit braced himself against the ground as the wind whirled around him. It seemed the grass was growing longer, the air... warmer. The wind stopped, as abruptly as it started. At last, Spirit opened his eyes, feeling tears spill from them.

He was back. He was once more in the landscape he loved so much. Esperanza looked up from grazing and whinnied with happiness. She and the rest of the herd galloped over to him and Rain, the air filling with their neighs of joy.

I'm home.

* * *

 **|The End|**

* * *

 **A/N: And that's all she wrote! If you liked this story, please leave a review, I always love reading them. Also, I'm writting a sequel to this, Outcasts, if anyone wants to check that out.**


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